Naruto: The Doctor
by ETR101
Summary: AU - Medic!Naruto. He was an overqualified medic-nin, a prodigy in his art and also well off financially. His life is perfect, so once it's ruined when the Hokage decides that he should be out in the field more and meeting people his age, how will he adjust? Rated M to be safe. Discontinued.
1. Prologue

Summary: AU - Medic!Naruto. He was an overqualified medic-nin, a prodigy in his art and also well off financially. His life is perfect, so once it's ruined when the Hokage decides that he should be out in the field more and meeting people his age, how will he adjust?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

_**Prologue**_

_**"The Boss's Boss"**_

"...So you see, Hokage-sama, the patient had an issue in which his kidneys were completely burnt by internal chakra use. I suspect that he-"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the young teen before him and sighed. The teen wore a long white coat, specially made for doctors that have been professionally sanctioned. Underneath that was a simple, silky white shirt, a chuunin vest over that and straight, black pants.

"Naruto-kun." He spoke but to no avail as the teen continued rambling.

"...overdid his training again. But the idiots working down at the ER thought he had an underlying condition because the patient would not wake up. So, my suggestion is-" The boy continued in a drawling voice, and the Third Hokage twitched in annoyance. He hated when the boy would get this way - he seemed to space out when giving long reports.

"Naruto-kun!" He spoke a bit higher. The boy finally snapped his head a bit.

"...to fire the entire ER crew..." He finished lamely, and grinned. "Sorry about that, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen just nodded, "No matter. However, I do not have power over what goes on at the Hospital and its internal affairs. You should go over this with the Head of the Medic Corps, your master, am I correct?"

Naruto sighed. "Rin-sensei is very close with all of her employees, even the most incompetent ones. She won't fire anyone." He replied dejectedly. "I don't have time for such trivial manners, Hokage-sama. If the ER cannot handle even the simplest of assignments, how will I ever handle all of my affairs?"

_"What affairs you lazy boy!" _The old man thought to himself quietly.

In this current generation, Uzumaki Naruto was perhaps one of the greatest medical minds to have ever graduated from the Corps. Ever since that fateful day many years ago, when he had broken through boundaries and had graduated from the regular ninja academy at the age of eight - he then advanced through the medical corps at a similar rate, taking a mere three years. That had been four years ago in itself.

So here and now stood a young, certified diagnostician whom was only fourteen years old, nearing fifteen, and already held one of the highest paying jobs they had to offer in Konoha.

One would think of the boy as a crazy workaholic. Hiruzen could not help but feel that it was the exact opposite according to his own, personal observations over the years. The fact of the matter was, he worked very few cases a week, and thus, had all the time in the world to get anything he wished completed.

And here, he was now complaining about not getting enough time to himself!

"Naruto-kun, I cannot fire anyone." The old man said, and the boy before him seemed displeased. "My boy, what are the affairs that you must get done? Why not simply hire some genin team to get it done for you?"

The blonde sneered, "As if I would trust a bunch of wet behind the ear genins with my affairs."

"Then how about chuunin?"

"They wouldn't understand my craft, Hokage-sama." He replied easily, "I'm afraid that my reason for visit it complete, I'll see you another day."

"You have no affairs." The Hokage said boldly, making the blonde sputter for a split second.

"O-of course I do!" Naruto replied, "I'm afraid I must leave now..." He tried to go for the door, had it not closed right in his face.

The old man sighed, "Sit down Naruto-kun." The teen complied and watched as the Hokage pulled out an immense file, almost filling out a part of the desk, and placed it in front of him.

"No..." He muttered, recognizing those papers.

"Yes..." Hiruzen said in the same tone, and pulled out the top most paper.

"A summary of hours registered in the walk-in Clinic, something all medics need to do every year as a standard requirement of employment." He started, "Uzumaki Naruto. Hours registered this year: Zero. Hours registered overall: Five."

The blonde's chin folded down to his chest. The Hokage knew the boy loathed clinic duty and let out a tiny smirk.

Naruto looked about ready to puke at the mere thought of being forced to do clinic duty.

"Now is the time for you to say...ah, what do youngsters say these days...oh yes! I believe the term is known as: 'Parlay'."

It was now the doctor's turn to raise a brow, "Um...no, I'm not a pirate. 'Negotiations' is fine with me."

The Hokage chuckled, "You are to become a field agent..."

"NO!"

"Yes! Because you are without a shadow of a doubt the laziest shinobi I have on my forces!"

Naruto replied indignantly, "WHAT ABOUT HATAKE AND THE ENTIRE NARA CLAN!"

Hiruzen nearly conceded to that point. "Well, Kakashi's served many years in ANBU. He was also apart of the third war...And the Nara clan are excellent providers of medical herbs and other stuff."

"Oh excuse them for doing their jobs." The blonde muttered to himself, "I work from nine to five everyday. I solve all the cases that are brought to me with the utmost efficiency!"

"Yes, all two of them a week." Sarutobi deadpanned. "And the last time you had a clinic patient, you sent them home crying!"

"And cured." Naruto finished. "Why a field agent? Why not just make me a specialized ANBU healer or whatever job you can come up with?"

Sarutobi pulled out another file, "The last mission you had was three months ago. An A-rank to Kumo." Naruto muttered something about 'annoying climates' but Sarutobi ignored that, "Fact of the matter is, you can potentially be one of my best overall shinobi. Not just as a doctor."

Naruto sighed. "You're not letting this go, are you?" The old man nodded. "..."

"...Fine!" Naruto knew that no matter what, the Hokage will have his way. The man had the power to make his life more miserable than ever - so why not take the less evil route, the blond doctor thought.

The Hokage smiled. "Excellent. Now the team...you have no complaints about being on a team, right?" The blonde shook his head, knowing how important it was to have a team.

"As long as they're competent..." He muttered in a low tone.

"Right. You see-" He was cut off by the door suddenly being broken into, revealing a young woman who had a note in her arms.

"H-Hokage-sama! It's from Kakashi's team!"

The old man frowned and read the coded note.

He then smiled.

Naruto did not like that smile one bit.

"I have a mission for you already, Naruto-kun! How about that, it must be fate."

"You're starting to sound like this one really annoying Hyuuga I know." The blonde deadpanned.

"It seems Kakashi has called for back up. His team ran into the 'Demon Brothers' on their way to wave. They are chuunin leveled Mist shinobi and are known associates to Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Bloody Mist."

Naruto waited for him to go, so he did. "The mission was to escort a bridge builder and oversee his safety until his bridge is completed. Kakashi has his genin team with him. I want you to back them up, seeing as how there are no medic-nins on his squad."

"...Very well. Can I do this one solo?"

"I'm afraid so. The team I had in mind for you are not on the clock yet and every other squad I can send are not quite as formidable as you." Naruto nodded.

"...So, I'm to head to wave then?" The Hokage nodded and threw the mission briefing to him. "Good luck."

Naruto sighed. "By your leave." Hiruzen nodded, allowing the doctor to leave.

Now alone, The Hokage smiled and laughed happily.

_"The future is looking bright. Now all of that potential isn't being wasted inside of his humongous office."_

* * *

_END  
_

_CH. 1 will be the official start of the story. Prologues are usually meant to be very short so I did it like this, just a basic introduction and premise, nothing more. Anyone who watches television will recognize the House influence and I assure you, it will not be like that. __But I will try my absolute best!_

_Tell me what you think of the prologue, thank you.  
_


	2. Dr Uzumaki

_**Chapter 1**_

_**"Dr. Uzumaki"**_

Haruno Sakura was not having a good day, let alone an entire week.

She had graduated from the Academy of Shinobi not too long ago, a few months actually from this day to be exact. At that point, she was proud to be serving her village and her parents were proud of her for being the first shinobi of their family.

After weeks upon weeks of doing useless D-ranked missions, their class clown named Inuzuka Kiba - who just happened to be on her team - managed to convince the Hokage to give them a C-ranked mission. At first, it was all smiles when the thought of surpassing her rival Ino, who was on another squad, by completing a higher class of mission came to mind. But now, Sakura found that she was terrified of the coming future.

Only a day ago, her squad leader, Hatake Kakashi had engaged and defeated another Jounin who had come to strike at the bridge builder, but not without consequence. After the fight, he had fallen as well and it was now up to the genin to decide how to run the show until Kakashi woke up.

She sighed, her team was clearly not ready for this step yet.

The pink haired girl snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door. She stood and carelessly walked over to answer it. As she opened the door, Sakura was met with a young teen, not much older looking than herself honestly and was wearing a standard chunin vest.

"Umm, hi! How can I help you?"

"You fail." He replied in a conversational tone. "Never in all my years of service..." The blonde muttered to himself with a facepalm, but not silent enough for the girl to miss.

Sakura was now confused, "W-what! And who are you!"

"Zero observation skills. Why am I not surprised..." He replied and then pointed to the leaf headband on his forehead. "Clearly, I'm your back up. What the hell are the Academy teaching you all these days?"

The young girl seemed a bit indignant but relented, "O-oh! I'm sorry." She then motioned for him to enter.

"My goodness, what the hell is the matter with you? Look you idiot, I could've been an enemy shinobi who just happened to have a spare Konoha headband! Aren't you going to ask me some sort of question to verify that I'm your real reinforcements?" The doctor asked, annoyed.

The pink haired girl seemed bemused, so Naruto sighed, he decided to be merciful just this one time. "Whatever. Just...let this be a lesson for the future. Oh and none of you bothered to set up any sort of perimeter defense. So overall, this team of genin absolutely sucks so far."

And with that, he pushed the girl out of the way and walked in. She began to grow red in the face, whether it was embarassment or anger, he did not care to identify.

"Now where's that idiot Jounin of yours?"

"H-he's upstairs." She replied timidly. Now it was clear on her face, the embarrassment from being criticized by someone wearing a fancy green vest.

He rolled his eyes, "Of course."

Walking calmly up the stairs, he heard a voice from behind him. "Who is he? And what is he doing here?"

Naruto replied without looking back. "Again. Zero observation skills - I pity Kakashi for having such an incompetent team." He did not turn back to see the boy nearly attack him, but was held back by another person.

"That's a chunin." It was another male voice.

Ignoring the genin, Naruto entered through the room that he could see Kakashi in as the door was wide open. He surveyed the unconscious man before kneeling down next to his side. "You idiot."

He positioned his hand above the Jounin's forehead. Just as he was about to channel chakra, a voice behind spoke up. "What are you doing?" She asked, alarmed.

"My job, duh." He replied. "_Shousen no Jutsu (Mystical Palm__)." _His hand lit up and turned a light green. He realized that the three genin were watching in earnest but only focused on healing the Jounin.

After a few seconds, the silver haired man, who was previously unconscious, woke up. He took a second to survey who was around him. "Hello genin." He said weakly, eye-smiling. "And Medic. Oh! Naruto."

"Just like old times, Kakashi. You lay down on a futon injured as Rin-sensei makes me practice on you."

The Jounin chuckled, "Indeed. Are you the only one that came?" The doctor nodded, "I see. How fast can you get me back up to speed?"

"It's seven in the morning right now. I can get you up to speed by the crack of noon."

"Um...excuse me, he had a severe case of chakra exhaustion. Shouldn't that take at least a week to heal?" The girl asked.

Naruto looked at her with a face that clearly said 'shut up', "Well then, the real medic here seems to have spoken, she thinks that you should stay in bed for a week Kakashi-san. Who am I, the amateur doctor, to protest?" The sheer amount of sarcasm in his voice shut the girl up.

"Severe case." He mocked repeated, "Don't make me laugh, none of you have ever seen a severe case of chakra exhaustion before in your life. My diagnosis is, Kakashi got his ass kicked but won the fight using about ninety percent of his chakra. Thus, he collapsed from fatigue with some wounds - ONLY mere fatigue with some wounds - and needed a real medic to just patch up his minor internal and external injuries."

"Ten percent of chakra is plentiful, enough to keep you alive just as long as you don't push it below two point seventy seven percent - which is the standard case of 'severe chakra exhaustion' as you say, pink one. Kakashi here...is just lazy."

They all looked at him in awe but he paid no mind to it. "No matter. Report!"

Kakashi seemed a bit shaken, he hadn't been ordered by a chunin ever since he himself was a genin - and that, in itself, had been a long time ago. "Umm, I think Zabuza is still alive and he has backup."

"WHAT?" Two of the genin yelled behind Naruto, the third just widened his eyes slightly, "What do you mean he's still alive!"

"The weapon he was 'killed' with, what were they?" Kakashi asked. Sakura then looked as if a stunning revelation had just hit her.

"Senbon."

And that was all Naruto needed to know to catch onto the topic. "No one kills with senbons. Takes too much skill and practice to even throw senbon, much less kill someone with it. Unless you're a show off, of course."

"When I was fighting Zabuza, a Kiri hunter ninja caught him by surprise and planted about three senbon into his neck. When I checked his pulse, it was gone."

"He was only dead temporarily." The blonde replied for the benefit of the genin who were confused, "I'm aware of this technique and the skill level it requires to use it. His backup should be mid to high chunin if my estimates are right. But from what I concur, you never sensed him, right?" Kakashi shook his head.

"I was too busy on Zabuza."

"Then it's safe to say that he is borderline Jounin in raw skill." That had the genin behind him worried.

Naruto continued, "I'll get you up to speed as quickly as possible - you need to train your genin."

Kakashi nodded, then turned to his squad. "I'll be back by this afternoon. Go take a couple hours to train but be sure to have someone on watch at all times. Also, don't stray too far from the house, just in case."

"Hai!" They answered before leaving.

Naruto then continued his treatment, "Your chakra is at twenty percent. All I can really do is stimulate your tenketsus, allowing it to 'charge' back up faster. Other then that, only a few minor scrapes."

"Thank you." Was all the Jounin said. "Would you mind showing Sakura some medical techniques? It would really help the squad."

Naruto scoffed, "The pink haired one with all but air in her head? I highly doubt she has the talent."

"Ahhh, come on Naruto. My first impression of them weren't that great either, people change. Sakura is actually a very talented shinobi. Kiba and Sasuke don't match her skills when it comes to chakra control, something a medic values above all else."

"You're wrong about that, Kakashi." Naruto replied calmly, "Any crappy medic can have excellent chakra control."

"Then what do medics value the most, Naruto?"

The medic did not care to answer.

* * *

(Later that day)

Kakashi stood up and smiled, "Feels good to be back on my feet."

Naruto nodded and left the room, leaving the door open for Kakashi to follow through. The Jounin quickly caught up, "So, you're back in the field? Change of heart?"

"Blackmail." Was all the younger man said, "It was either this or being forced to serve in the clinic - helping the world's stupidest people."

Kakashi had the gall to laugh, "Ah, was it Rin or Hokage-sama?"

"The old man." Naruto replied, saying it as if he thought no one else had the balls to blackmail him. As he made it out the door, it only took him a moment to survey the area. He instanty spotted the genin. "...What do you intend to teach them? Zabuza and his accomplice are way stronger then them. A little training won't do anything to raise their chances of survival."

"I know." Was Kakashi's grim answer, "That's why I need you to help. The accomplice will need to be handled. I will defeat Zabuza." Naruto shrugged.

"Technically, I'm not supposed to fight on the front lines according to Tsunade-sama's second clause of the duties of a medical ninja." He replied, "But I'm not a stickler for the rules so...why the hell not?"

The silver haired ninja sounded relieved, "That's good." Truth was, he didn't think the blonde would agree to the plan. He had never liked fighting during his training back then.

"Again, what will you teach them?"

Kakashi eye smiled, "I think it's a good time to teach them the tree climbing exercise."

And it was in that moment did Naruto pause, he seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, before turning his gaze to the Jounin.

"Kakashi."

"Yes?"

"You suck."

(x)

(With the genin)

"So...what do you think of that new guy?" Kiba asked, "He doesn't seem too tough. I bet me and Akamaru could take him!"

Uchiha Sasuke, the third genin of the trio, scoffed. "Idiot. He wears a chunin vest for a reason."

"He's kind of...er...mean." Sakura said timidly, "The first thing he said when I opened the door was, 'You fail' - I mean, we were never given proper instruction and...well, Kakashi-"

"Sakura." The raven haired boy cut her off, "Shut up. They're coming."

"Hello my genin!" The Jounin said in a cheerful tone, "I have come to deliver some training."

Naruto decided to fade into the back and watch. There wasn't much a medic was supposed to do, sure, he could help train the genin but it wasn't his responsibility. He had no obligations here except to heal the wounded and to contribute in order to complete the mission.

He watched as the girl, Sakura if he remembered right, soak the exercise up in a moment. Naruto mentally scoffed as he saw Kakashi give him a telling look. _"Whatever Kakashi." _

"Excellent job, Sakura! Now then, why don't you keep practicing." She nodded.

"When does the bridge builder wish to continue his little project?" Naruto asked aloud.

Kakashi thought for a moment, "Tomorrow, I believe he said back on the boat."

Naruto nodded and then closed his eyes, trying to relax.

"You know, maybe you should do a little training yourself, Naruto."

The doctor shrugged, "I'll be fine. You should be more worried about your little genin up there."

"Hey!" Naruto heard an indignant scream, but did not care to open his eyes to look up. "What makes you think that you're better then us!"

"Arf!"

"I'm taller-" The blonde opened his eyes and began counting off numerous factors. "-smarter, faster, stronger, more charming, more experienced and more consistent then you all." Was his conversational reply, further enraging the single genin.

"Fuck you!"

"How vulgar." Naruto stretched his arms to rest behind his head, "You shouldn't be offended. I've been a shinobi for quite a while now. I am accomplished, you are only at the beginning of your career. Logically, I'm a better shinobi then you."

"I bet we could take you on, right, Akamaru!"

"Arf!"

Naruto sighed, "You may believe what you want." He then begin drifting off to sleep, "Loudmouths are usually the easiest to beat."

_"Usually." _He mentally thought, amused.

"Tch!"

Kakashi sighed, "Maa, get back to your training, Kiba. Naruto, stop provoking my genin."

Naruto grinned, "You are way too soft on these kids, Kakashi. How will they ever learn if you don't give them a slice of reality every now and then?" He took a pause, then continued. "New genin typically think that they are the best to ever grace the lands. But the truth is, eight-five percent of them will die within five years of service."

"You're right." The Jounin responded, "But now is not the time to scare them."

The blonde didn't respond right away, "Like I care." And those were his last words before snoring could be heard from him.

(X)

_Flashback _

_"Oi! Naruto, where the hell were you? You missed the team gatherings!" A girl yelled out. "You'll never make friends if you don't ever show up, Naruto." _

_She stood at five foot three, far taller than the boy she was currently yelling at. Her hair was dark as the night and she had dark pupils - on her clothing was a fan, the very symbol of her clan._

_The blonde child, who looked no older then eight, sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, sorry Na-chan. I was held back by my Aunt Rin. She had to talk to me about something."_

_"What was it?" The girl asked, "Was it really so important for you to miss nearly three hours of hanging out with us?"_

_"My training. Apparently, she's gonna 'kick it into high gear'. Hehehe, she thinks I'm better then half her employees." He smiled widely. _

_The girl chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair, annoying him a bit, "You have such a high opinion of yourself, Naruto." _

_"Well, I'm awesome, nothing I can do about it." He replied in a strictly calm voice, making her smile. _

_"Right...Well, better go meet up with Shin. I'll see you later, Naruto." _

_"Ah, ok! See you later Na-chan." She turned around, walking at a medium pace._

_Naruto sighed and watched her go with a blank look in his eyes. _

_(x)_

Naruto opened his eyes, his dream had ended, to see that the genin were down on the grass panting. "How were they?" Naruto yawned.

"Sakura burned out the fastest, followed by Kiba then Sasuke, who just recently came down himself." Kakashi said.

The doctor nodded. "How long have I been out?"

"Three hours."

Standing up, he stretched out. He eyed the genin once more with a look Kakashi could not identify - and then spoke up, "We should get back for dinner."

The Jounin agreed and called down his genin.

* * *

(Tazuna's house)

"Um..." An old man mumbled, looking at the one ninja he definitely did not recognize. All he did know was, the blonde was a member of Konoha. "I don't mean to sound rude or nothin' but who are you?"

Naruto finished his mouthful of food before answering, "Uzumaki Naruto, certified medical ninja."

"Medic?" The old man said, surprised. "You don't strike me as one. Hell...aren't you a bit young too?"

The blonde shrugged and continued eating.

So of course, Kakashi had to say something. "He's the youngest to ever graduate as a certified medic."

"Wow." A woman spoke, she had been making the lovely meal Naruto had been chowing down on, "That's impressive. So, you're kinda like a doctor."

"That's exactly what I am." He replied with a smile, "Thank you."

"Medics don't fight." Kiba said, "So-"

Naruto just looked at him as if he were stupid, "Kid." He started, "I know you're not all there up there but did you seriously just make that generalization?"

"What?" Sasuke just looked at Kiba and sighed.

"Tsunade of the Sannin was a medic." The Uchiha pointed out, "She's a powerful shinobi."

They didn't speak much from then on, except for a few comments here and there. Naruto felt quite relaxed in the home, it had a welcoming aura to it.

"Why?" A boy said.

Naruto continued to eat, ignoring the seemingly random word.

"What?" The dog boy spoke, "What's up?"

"Why do guys keep fighting? You won't win! Gato is too...too powerful."

The doctor resisted the urge to snort into his glass of water.

"Because it's our mission." Sakura supplied, confused by the boy's statement.

"You'll die." The kid replied, "You're all gonna die. There are no heros here, he'll kill them all."

"What!" Kiba exclaimed, "We're shinobi! We're not regular people like Gato who can't do anything but bully people around!"

The boy just scoffed and looked to leave. "You're all weak. None of you know anything! What do you know about pain! You're no mat-"

"May I have some more rice, please?" Naruto interrupted, they all looked at him. "Sorry for interrupting, this rice is just way better then anything I can make at home."

Kakashi looked fairly amused, as did Sasuke and Tazuna. Tsunami did as he requested, "Thank you." Was all he said, and then he just continued to eat.

Inari seemed to have forgotten what he was gonna say so he left the table to go to his room.

Kiba seemed both angry at being talked down to by a kid, and bemused by the whole situation. "What was that all about?" He muttered.

"Well...you see." Tazuna said, "It's a long story."

"We have all night." Kakashi said. Tazuna nodded and began.

Naruto did not listen to a single word, not caring too much for the personal issues of others.

* * *

(The next day)

"Where's Naruto-san?" Sakura asked, looking at the lone Jounin who was training them.

Kakashi eye smiled, "Naruto is currently watching over Tazuna as he continues to build his bridge. He volunteered to do the full shift today so all of you could get as much training as possible! What a nice guy, right?"

Kiba scoffed, "Well, at least he's good for something. He didn't do anything but sleep and insult us yesterday!"

Sakura looked like she wanted to say something too, but she caught herself.

"Maaa, he's like that to almost everyone. Don't take it too personally. Anyways...shouldn't you be tree climbing? Sasuke is almost at the top already."

Kiba looked up from where he was at and twitched, the Jounin was right. "Shit!"

Just as Sakura was about to go start climbing the tree, Kakashi stopped her.

"Sakura. You won't be climbing trees today." She widened her eyes, "You'll be going to the next level. Do you have a bathing suit of some sort."

"...No sensei, I didn't think I would need one."

Kakashi nodded, "Doesn't matter, your regular clothes will do." He took out a note, "Go to the bridge and hand this to Naruto. From then on, just follow his directions."

She looked hesitant but nodded anyways.

Kakashi smirked as he watched her leave. _"No free day for you, Naruto." _

(X)

(At the bridge)

_"That one eyed son of a bitch." _Naruto cursed mentally.

Sakura looked at him nervously. Naruto rolled his eyes, he wasn't surprised. From his observations, the reason Kakashi was teaching at the moment was because the Academy currently had an excellent student. That excellent student just happened to be an Uchiha and only one person had the qualifications to teach an Uchiha. A while back, he had taken a patient who kept raving on and on about some kid who was bound to be rookie of the year who just happened to be an Uchiha.

Which meant that the Uchiha on this team was the rookie of the year and that meant that this girl was the highest scoring female of the Academy. But she didn't act like it at all - in fact, she acted like an idiot most of the time which led him to believe that she was the book worm type of girl.

All of this pointed to the fact that she was indeed, a 'goodie goodie' girl who didn't want to do any wrong. That was why she was embarrassed when he criticized her and why she seemed unfamiliar with being criticized in the first place.

Nope, definitely not medic material at the moment.

He looked at the note again and mentally cursed again. He had been planning on slacking off today, knowing that according to Kakashi, Zabuza had been terribly hurt himself. Naruto knew just how powerful Kakashi was and according to the details, Zabuza was estimated to be out for a week.

So he knew for a fact that there was a ninety-five percent chance of absolutely nothing happening today. Good odds in his opinion.

"...Kakashi has asked me to teach you how to walk on water." Sakura looked interested in that. He continued.

"I can teach you this easily, especially from here. Can you swim?" She nodded. "Good. Now follow me."

He walked to the corner of the bridge. "From here, I can overlook your training and watch over Tazuna at the same time. I will take a brief moment to explain to you how water walking works. It's not too complicated unless you're an idiot - you bascially do what you did for tree walking with the exception of having to consistently adapt to the currents of what you are standing on."

She looked confused at the last part. He sighed, "Just...do it. The more you do it, the better you will get at it."

"Hai." Was her only reply as she left to attempt it.

Naruto was amused by her timid nature but thought nothing of it.

_"Well, at least Kakashi gave me a fair amount of entertainment - not many things like watching a green genin try to walk on water only to fall."_

* * *

(Meanwhile - elsewhere)

"Reinforcement, you say?" Zabuza asked. He was currently bedridden and wrapped in bandages.

The masked shinobi nodded. "Hai, a blonde teenager, not much older then the other genin. With the exception of what I recognize as a Konoha chuunin vest."

Zabuza paused to think for a moment, "I see...Gather more intel on this person. What do you believe he can do?"

"He does not seem to be a fighting type." Haku said after a moment, "Also, I noticed Hatake was up and about."

"Already? He used a lot of chakra in our fight. Figured he'd be out in a week."

Haku nodded, having come to the same conclusion. "I believe he may be a healer of sorts. A medical ninja."

Zabuza nodded. "Medics are tough to combat directly." He admitted, having many years of experience to back his statement.

"...Assassinate him if you have the opportunity." Zabuza ordered before falling asleep.

He did not notice his accomplice freeze up for a moment.

"Hai." Was all the figure said before leaving his boss to sleep.

* * *

_**END**_

_Thank you for reading.  
_


	3. Without Weakness

_**Chapter 2  
**_

_**"Without Weakness"**_

"Assassination."

Naruto sputtered indignantly, then turned to look back at his opponent. "How in the blue hell did you get so many damn S's?" He muttered in reply, "This is bullshit, Sajin. You have to be cheating."

"You are lucky that they weren't Q's, Naruto-sama." A squeaky voice replied.

In front the blonde doctor, two animals sat down in front of a relatively large board game set. Said animals were foxes, both small and generally devious looking creatures in every sense of the word. One had a fur coat that matched the color of a shark, a sea like blue and the other had a fiery red color.

The blue fox, Sajin, was currently smirking. The red fox, Vulpone, only shook his head.

"You have to be cheating...I can't believe you took advantage of me playing down 'nation' - this sucks!"

The fox laughed out loud, it was of a low volume but it rang of mockery, "You just suck at Kitsune Scramble, Naruto-sama."

The medic sighed and looked back down at the board and to the letters on his turn, "...To hell with this. New game!"

Kakashi watched as his young friend interact with his personal summons, both amused and annoyed at the same time. The Jounin had assigned him to train Sakura only a day ago, something that he seemed to be neglecting at the moment.

"Naruto...didn't I ask you to train Sakura?"

Naruto ignored the older man and kept staring at the board, before moving a some of his pieces. "Jump." He said, indicating the word he placed.

Kakashi's lone visible eye twitched, "Naruto."

"Pumped!" The foxed laughed. "Double points!" The blonde doctor then began a string of curses.

"Naruto!" Kakashi said again, this time truly annoyed. "How is Sakur-"

"Oh don't get your panties into a twist Kakashi, she has already completed the exercise." Naruto cut him off, "I told her to join the other two and help them out with their own chakra control issues."

Kakashi sighed, "Why didn't you just say so?" Naruto didn't answer, knowing it was a rhetorical question. The Jounin stalked away to find his genin and left the blonde alone.

"Naruto-sama." The second fox spoke up, his voice deep. "You have not summoned us in a long time. I believe it has been half a year or so. Why now?"

Naruto nodded at Vulpone, "I need you two to track down a Mist Jounin in the area. If we can find him, then we can find his boss, Gato. I want a piece of his fortune by the time this mission is over."

"That will be no problem at all, Naruto-sama. But why not have the Jounin do so? He is the summoner of the dogs if his smell is anything to go by."

"That is not his mission." The blonde replied curtly, "I want this to be off the records completely. Gato is rich and with his funds, I will be able to financially support my secret project."

The two foxes shared a look before shrugging, "It will be done." They replied.

Naruto smiled, "Excellent! Oh...and try to catch the attention of one of the important men, I want someone to interrogate. Lead them to me..." He then placed down a few pieces. "Victory." He spelled out with a smirk. "Oh yeah. Can't counter that move, can ya, Sajin?"

The blue fox just smirked, "My apologies, Naruto-sama." He said, "Denied." The fox spelled with his own pieces, "Triple points!"

Vulpone only shook his head, "You never learn, Naruto-sama. Anyways, we will have the job done, rest assured."

Had anyone been in the area, they would have heard a violent string of curses and the mocking laughter of a fox.

* * *

(Later that day)

"In two days, I think Zabuza will strike once again." Kakashi spoke out loud to his team, "In two days, I must prepare you guys effectively."

The genin were watching with their complete attention, unlike the medic, who just seemed bored by the whole situation.

The week Kakashi had projected for the team to train was nearly up and he truly believed that Zabuza would now return to strike at full power soon. He glanced over at Naruto, worried for the boy seeing as how he hadn't been on the field for a long time. Half a year was definitely a long tenure for a shinobi to be inactive - even for a top class shinobi like him.

"Naruto, you will be handling the accomplice. My team will protect Tazuna and I will personally deal with Zabuza." The commanding Jounin spoke, "If there are any complications, we will deal with it accordingly." He then finished.

"What if he's brought back up?" Sasuke pointed out.

"Then you guys will take care of them if you can. If you cannot...well, just ask Naruto for help. He's fairly powerful himself." Said blonde did not respond to the praise.

Kiba looked skeptical, "Er...are you sure sensei? We haven't even seen if he can fight yet."

It was at that point when the silver haired Jounin began chuckling, "Maah, I've been on missions with him before. Trust me, he and I are not too far apart."

The genin widened their eyes at that proclamation.

"Anyways..." Kakashi muttered, "I believe it is time to step up your training!"

"Eh? What's going on!" Kiba seemed excited, as did Sasuke, though he did not show it as openly.

"Sparring practice of course!"

The genin smiled, except for Sakura, who seemed insecure about her own combat prowess.

Naruto frowned, he did not like the eye smile of his master's best friend.

"Here's how it will all go down!"

(X)

(Ten Minutes later)

"I hate you Kakashi." Naruto muttered, "I was having such a wonderful morning too...honestly, do you think these three weaklings have even a chance at defeating me?"

"Not defeat." Kakashi replied quickly, cutting off Kiba's indignant yell, "They just need experience in straight up combat."

"...Right." The doctor sighed. "Honestly, I didn't go to the medic corps to deal with all this nonsense."

"Of course. You went to the medic corps because you disliked the Jounin who was assigned to your genin team." He replied in a conversational tone, "Now, now...this is the fun part about being chuunin Naruto!"

"Because beating up a bunch of weak genin is so much fun, right?" Was the sarcastic reply, "If I wanted to do that, I'd go find a genin who are at least not rookies."

"...Well, beggars cannot be choosers."

A reply that had absolutely nothing to do with the conversation. A classic Kakashi retort.

"Whatever. Who's my first victim?"

The genin all scowled, "Sakura will go up first." Kakashi said, shocking the girl.

"K-Kakashi-sensei! I...uh, I'm not a front line fighter."

"Then what is your purpose in this squad?" The blonde muttered aloud, "You don't even look like decent cannon fodder."

Kakashi sighed, "Maa, there is no need to be so mean spirited Naruto. Sakura, just do your best, I'm sure you'll do just fine."

She nodded and walked up hesitantly. Naruto did not even move, his hands in his pockets and watching her with a lazy gaze. _"He's not taking me seriously."_ She seemed angry by the admission.

"Begin." After hearing her sensei, she carefully went through the necessary handseals to perform the academy's best technique. "Bunshin no jutsu (Clone)!" Four Sakura clones appeared beside the original, "Charge!" They all went up to run.

Naruto yawned, aggravating the young genin even more.

"Take this!" The first Sakura jumped, Naruto did not even flinch as he let the clone pass through him. The second one attacked from his rear but also passed through him but as the third came by, Naruto lashed out and kicked the girl in the stomach.

It landed on the original. The pink haired genin flew back to her starting position, gasping for breath from the hard kick. "S-strong." She gasped, "Too...fast."

"Really?" He drawled, "I was holding my speed down to typical genin level."

"I'm not done!" She roared, calmly flashing through more handseals.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Great...more visible handseals and useless bravado." She completed the handseals and Naruto suddenly felt as if he were in a different world. Rolling his eyes, he silently diffused the genjutsu.

Sakura smiled as she successfully caught him in her genjutsu.

Naruto smiled because he thought it was cute that she thought she caught him in her genjutsu.

_"Typical genin arrogance." _Naruto thought as he watched her charge him again, only to be kicked back again.

"I swear, even little baby Kono could beat you if this is the best you can do." The blonde muttered, "Oi, Kakashi, let her tag out for someone. This is pathetic."

The Jounin sighed, he didn't think Sakura would have been that ineffective. Nodding, "You're done for now, Sakura." She nodded, unable to keep the shame out of her eyes. Hadn't she graduated in the top five of her class not too long ago? How had this boy, who looked no older then her, defeat her so easily?

"Kiba." Was all Kakashi got to say as the boy ran up quickly with his partner behind him.

"Let's do this, Akamaru!"

They charged straight at him.

Naruto only spared a look at Kakashi, who only sighed and shook his head, before looking back to the younger genin. He rose hand and back handed the charging boy, knocking him back hard into a tree, knocking him out. He didn't even bother with Akamaru who seemed to only follow his master into battle.

"Ok, this is not turning out the way I thought it would be." Kakashi muttered with a sweat drop, "Sasuke."

The last genin nodded and stepped forward.

Naruto spared the boy a glance before narrowing his eyes. He then smiled, "Uchiha huh? If you are even half as talented as your brother was when he was at your age, then I might actually have to work a bit."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes but did not reply. The raven haired boy threw a multitude of shuriken at the blonde from several different angles. Naruto moved up to avoid the majority of them and inclined his head slightly to one side to dodge the last. He then watched on as the Uchiha began moving quickly around him, hiding, trying to attack from different angles with kunai and shuriken, only for the blonde to dodge them all.

_"This one isn't bad. At least he realized I'd destroy him upfront. Too bad his brother was one thousand times better at his age." _Naruto thought to himself, "You are good. But really, why not use your Sharingan?"

Kakashi sighed, "He's yet to activate it."

Naruto widened his eyes, "I see." He calmly plucked a stray shuriken from the air, "Hey kid! You can thank me for this later."

Sasuke didn't understand what he was trying to say so he continued his tactical assault. Clearly, the boy understood that fighting up front against the blonde was a bad idea if his speed was anything to go by.

The Uchiha stopped dead in his tracks when the blonde suddenly appeared before him with slight bursts of killing intent leaking out. Naruto launched a punch and sent the boy flying towards a tree. The boy did not have the opportunity to stand as a kick was delivered to his side, launching him into an entirely new direction.

Sakura and Kiba watched in awe as they watched the rookie of the year get pummeled by a boy not much older than them. "Who is he?" Sakura nearly yelled, "He's so strong!"

"A medical ninja. One of the best in our village." Kakashi answered lazily. "Naruto is quite famous. Or rather, infamous to many other nations."

(x)

Sasuke was nearly breathless as he tried to track down the blonde and continue to fight. It was getting easier to read his movements but no matter how hard he tried, the blonde kept hitting him. The Uchiha was not one to give up however and continued to fight.

A punch landed to his side.

A kick landed to his temple.

An elbow landed in his stomach.

Sasuke knew he was taking the beating of his life at the moment but he kept getting back up. Finally, he saw it, the trajectory of the kick the blonde was about to give him. Instead of dodging, something he didn't have the strength to do, he tried to catch it.

Of course, that didn't end to well as the older boy was clearly more powerful then him. Sasuke was once again launched onto his back, hurt.

"Finally..." He heard the blonde muttered, "That wasn't too bad...now was it?" Sasuke glared at him, not with anger but with determination. "The spar's over. I'll let the dog boy come up next. You take a break, Uchiha."

Sasuke grunted, "I can still go."

"Perhaps." Naruto admitted, "But sometimes, it's nice to slow down and smell the flowers. It's not everyday you activate your Sharingan."

The Uchiha widened his eyes and walked slowly over to the nearby river. When he saw the red in his eyes, gratitude filled him. "Like I said, you can thank me later. Go ask Kakashi for tips on using those things, they will be helpful."

"Did you know my brother?" Sasuke asked, "You talk of him as if you knew him. The tone of your voice anyways."

Naruto was quiet for a moment. "Yes." Was all Naruto said, "As a doctor, I've helped treat numerous ANBU over the years. Your brother was one of them."

Sasuke didn't think that was all the blonde knew but he didn't dig any further, too tired to do so.

"Anyways, when you get back, send the dog boy my way."

Sasuke nodded and walked off. He was thankful that the blonde had done this for him.

Naruto watched as the boy left and sighed, "Honestly, why did I do that?" He muttered and looked on to the river, "Damn you Itachi."

* * *

(Later that day)

Tazuna watched the previously formidable looking genin team ate their dinner. The old man did not want to dwell on what could possibly tire out three super strong kids like those but chose not to wonder. The affairs of shinobi scared him to be honest, he just didn't admit it out loud.

"So...how was your day?"

Kakashi eye smiled, "The genin here just had a long day of training. I hope my clone did a sufficient job at protecting you today?" The old man nodded in confirmation.

"The bridge is almost done." Tsunami looked really happy when her father said that, "Just a few more days. A week at the longest."

"That's fantastic." He said, inciting more conversation at the table. Naruto just continued eating until he saw a flash of blue from the very corner of his eye. He looked at Kakashi and was relieved to see that the man did not seem to notice. Finishing up his meal, he smiled kindly.

"The meal was wonderful, Tsunami-san, thank you." He then looked at Kakashi, "I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back before midnight."

Kakashi rose a single brow but then shrugged, "Alright."

The blonde nodded and left, leaving three confused genin.

* * *

(Outside - far from base)

"We've found them, Naruto-sama." The fox spoke but his voice seemed urgent.

Naruto looked to his summon, "What's wrong? And where is Vulpone?" The fox sighed and nodded.

"Vulpone is currently leading the tail you asked us to lure. But it's one of the shinobi, a masked one."

Naruto took a moment to think before shrugging, "Lead this shinobi to me." The fox eyed his master before nodding.

"It shall be done, Naruto-sama."

Naruto waited patiently with a smile on his face.

(x)

Haku flew after the spy with all of the speed she could muster, _"We've been found!" _Was the mantra she kept saying in her head. She could not allow anyone to find Zabuza, not in his current weakened state.

She was relieved when she sensed the spy stop however, was he tired? What happened?

Haku turned the corner and was confused when she saw two foxes, one smiling and the other sighing.

It was an odd sight.

Her sixth sense of danger was now ringing in her mind as she rolled to the floor, dodging a punch that left a huge dent on a tree. "Good reflexes." A voice said, "You're not bad, Hunter-san."

"Who are you?" She exclaimed, only now realizing she had been lead to a trap. "You are the spy?"

"Yes." The blonde said, grinning, "You cannot defeat me, Hunter-san."

Haku charged at high speeds and engaged him in a Taijutsu exchange only to be shocked to see the blonde keeping up with her pace for pace, _"I thought he was just a medic!" _

Naruto on the other hand, was having a good time. "You're fairly quick." He said in between exchanges, "But I've fought stronger enemies. Ever been to Kumo? Those guys have tough shinobi." He dodged one her kicks and quickly moved behind to trap her in a full nelson.

"I win."

"Not quite!" The masked ninja said. "Sensatsu Suishō (Thousand Flying Water Needles)!" Naruto widened his eyes as he saw her left hand form one handed seals. _"Shit!" _He jumped back, dodging a sudden vast of water needles.

"Hyoton: Ishikiri (Ice Release: Stone Cutter)!" Two waves of ice suddenly launched at him. Naruto seemed surprised at this but dodged easily, and whilst in mid-air, he formed his own seals.

"Futon: Kazekiri (Wind Cutter)!" Like the ice, multiple blades of wind was launched at the masked opponent, forcing her to dodge quickly.

Naruto then quickly appeared before his opponent and engaged in Taijutsu once again. "Why do you insist on fighting up close. Is this the way a medic should fight?" Haku said.

"I actually kind of like it to be honest." Naruto smiled and dodged a high kick from the woman, before landing a small kick to her left side.

Haku then started to feel more and more tired as the fight dragged, _"What's going on?" _She was also breathing more violently. "W-what-"

"Heh, you're not bad. This is a style of Taijutsu that I developed personally." His voice was smug, "Dokuken, the Poison Fist!" He rose his hand up to her, similar to that of the tiger fist style from what she recognized, and jabbed at her mask, shattering it instantly.

He then proceeded to lay a complete and utter beat down on the formerly masked shinobi, landing a hard knee to her stomach and then multiple elbow blows to her body. Haku could barely block his incoming strikes.

It did not take long for her to completely collapse.

"Still alive. I sure hope so."

"Y-you poisoned me?" She asked.

Naruto chuckled, "Oh no, that's just a cool name I thought of. The effects of it are just similar to being poisoned. You see, in order to become a medical shinobi, I had to learn how to convert raw chakra into electrical currents. That is basically the secret behind this style. Every time I would land a strike on you, no matter how small, I sent a small bit of electricity through your body in order to confuse your nervous system."

"The effects are small at first but the longer you engage with me in Taijutsu, the faster you began to slow down. Hence, the poison fist." He smiled and walked up to her. "You'll find that your chakra will also feel erratic. That is also a side effect to my technique."

Haku widened his eyes. _"Such a powerful close combat technique!" _She mourned, _"How in the world do you beat a shinobi who can heal himself and is able to fight like this in close combat? He's not regular."_

"Now...then." Naruto grinned and looked down to her. Sajin and Vulpone also walked up to her, one with a smirk on it's face while the other had a blank look.

"I have a proposition for you."

* * *

**_END_**

_The next chapter will be the end of the wave arc. My own ending that will eventually lead to something else later in the story._

_Some people have inquired as to why his chakra control is so good if he had the Kyuubi in him. The answer is very simple and I would prefer to reveal this later in the story when it fits in. Thank you for reading as always._


	4. Deal with the Devil

_**Chapter 3**_

_**"Deal with the Devil"**_

A lone figure walked through a thick, misty forest - his footsteps silent as if it had been practiced for many years. He stood at a height of five foot eight, relatively tall for his age of fourteen years - the teen had short blond locks of hair, sharp blue eyes and three very thin, almost invisible whisker like marks upon his angled face. This teen wore a standard chuunin vest over a white shirt and dark, straight pants.

His name was Uzumaki Naruto, infamous in every country except his own - although even that claim could be argued - and he was on a mission, a personal off the clock mission as far as he was concerned.

At his fairly rapid pace, it did not take him long to locate the building his foxes had found not too long ago. He looked to the sky and sighed, it was almost midnight. He would have to send a clone back to the house to reassure Kakashi and feed him a lie, an easy enough thing to do.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning)." He channeled chakra to his left hand and struck the ground, a silent pop indicating his technique. Now standing before him was a small, silver colored fox who had eyes as thin as a line. He was small and had a similar aura like the other two foxes before, except his eyes had more hints of malice within them.

"Gin." Naruto spoke quietly, "I require your assistance tonight." The fox nodded and bowed lightly, not formal at all but it showed respect to his summoner.

"Naruto." His voice was deep. "It's been a while, what's up?"

"I have come here to meet a very powerful shinobi. A man named Momochi Zabuza, one of the famed Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Bloody Mist village. You see, I currently have one of his accomplices held captive and I wish to speak to him about something. While I am doing this, I want you to find the storage around here and anything of value." He gave the fox a map, allowing his tail to take it from his hand. "This should help. Vulpone and Sajin marked the important spots apparently with an X."

The fox briefly scanned the paper and nodded, "No problem champ. You want to meet up later?" Naruto shook his head.

"I want you to rob this place dry. According to the other two, they have quite the collection of valuables and cash. I want it all - once you're finished, disperse and I'll summon you after my meeting with the shinobi." Gin nodded and smirked, a dark glint in his eyes.

"Sounds fun. Alright, what's in it for me, champ?"

Naruto mentally sighed. As much as he respected the fox in front of him, the blonde sometimes felt that the cost of his services were quite deep. But he really needed Gin on this task just in case his talks failed today. He thought it was unlikely but it was better to be safe then sorry.

The silver fox was the best of the best at what he did after all.

"...Do I get a friendship discount?" Naruto asked pathetically.

Gin seemed to contemplate his words, more then Naruto hoped in the least. "Fifteen percent since I'm such a nice guy today. Buy or sell?"

The doctor sighed, "...Fine, I'll buy. The hell does a fox need to do with money anyways?" Gin smirked.

"I have children you know. I need some valuables to let them know that daddy is the one that brings home the bacon every night and I need to give their mommy a little incentive to take breaks from work every now and then, if you catch my drift." The fox seemed to attempt an eyebrow wiggle, which did not amuse the blonde as much as it would have had it not been such a serious situation at the moment.

Naruto's left eye twitched, _"Again, what in the hell do foxes do anyway? Don't they just have sex, hunt and sleep? Honestly..." _He did not care to express his feelings out loud. "Whatever." He sighed, "Let's just get this done."

The silver fox nodded and seemingly disappeared from his previous spot, leaving no trace that he'd even been there. Naruto stood up and scanned the building that was visible only from atop, _"There is a lot of mist today. Good thing too - that makes it so much easier to complete this task." _

Naruto walked silently into the mist, his breathing nearly soundless from the outside. He quickly made his way before the door, only to see two men guarding it. Taking advantage of the mist, Naruto silently snuck up behind them both.

"Man...it's so hard to see through this damn mist!" One of the bandits exclaimed. "I hate this bullshit. We're not getting paid enough for this."

"You've been complaining all day. Will you just shut up already?" He had a scowl in his face.

Naruto shook his head, he contemplated killing both but decided against it for now. _It would be troublesome if someone found their corpses in the middle of this meeting..."_

Naruto, showing a mastery of chakra control and stealth, walked up the wall quickly and silently - not attracting any attention whatsoever from the several guards around the area. He tried to remember what the two scout foxes had told him about Zabuza's location.

It was on the top floor of this massive building.

Soon, he found his way there, the room was now in sight. Now, all he had to do was sneak in.

Of course, things aren't always that simple.

"Well...well, and who might you be?" Naruto did not show it but he was quite shocked when he heard the voice. "You are very, very sneaky. But I'm the best in that field - you didn't think that just anyone could move undetected in my mist, did you?"

"Momochi Zabuza. Don't you look healthy." Was the doctor's calm reply.

The shirtless, brow-less man smirked behind his mask - his fierce looking sword looking ever proud in his hand. "Hello Konoha chuunin. According to my sources, you are the medic nin that was sent as back up to help Kakashi's little pee wee squad. Now then...why are you here of all people? I figured that if they found this spot, it would be Kakashi or some other assassin...but not a medic. No...it is very rare that medics are given assassinations."

Naruto smirked outwardly, "Who said I was here for an assassination? I have no interest in battling today, Zabuza-san."

The Jounin narrowed his eyes. "Oh?"

The blonde nodded and reached into his vest, alerting the Jounin's seemingly built in sense of danger. "I'm not arming myself, just getting something." He muttered before taking out a scroll.

Opening it, he unsealed something or rather, someone. Haku, the masked ninja he had defeated easily not too long ago, suddenly appeared from thin air, tied up and beaten - but looking fairly decent as far as being a captive goes.

"Taking captive of my tools now? Honestly, I'm a far more cruel man then that." Zabuza said, amused by the situation. "Although I admit, this is quite underhanded for a Konoha shinobi."

The blonde shrugged, "I'm not most Konoha shinobi. I've come with a proposition."

The Jounin rose a single brow, "You want to strike a deal with me? What could you possibly offer me, Konoha chuunin?"

Naruto only smirked. "A little bird told me of your quest to overthrow the Yondaime Mizukage."

Zabuza narrowed his eyes, "...Go on."

"I want in." Was all he said, "I will help provide for you the means of building up a military, bases and gathering allies." He said, "What I want from you is the consent that you will not attack the bridge tomorrow. Kill Gato and we can share the spoils of his fortune. What do you say?"

The Mist shinobi took a moment to think, his face carefully blank. Naruto was also calm. "Gato is the only thing hiding me from eventually getting caught from Mist Hunters. Why should I do this?"

The doctor scoffed, "You really don't see the big picture, do you? The plan is for me to take over his company and I shall redirect whatever of his fortune he has towards your little war effort. All I want...is fifty percent."

"That's a little bit much for a simple doctor, don't you think?" The Jounin asked mockingly, "Why should I do this? Why don't I just kill you now and take the entire fortune for myself?"

"The answer is simple. You're a simple brute who only knows how to kill. Allow me to run this company from the shadows...allow me to help you win your little war. Gato is filthy rich, fifty percent of his fortune would allow me to retire nearly sixty years early. But that is not my goal, I have other...ambitions."

"So you're just a greedy son of a bitch." Zabuza said bluntly. The blonde however looked mildly offended.

"I never knew my mother but I'm sure she was a great woman." He replied, annoyed. "By the way, you never denied being a simple brute with no knowledge of business."

"And you never denied being greedy. What does a kid like you know about business?"

The blonde smirked, "In the eyes of my village, I'm just a doctor. I save lives and they praise me for it. People judge others by their actions in the public eye. What makes you think that just because of my age, I am without a plan? I am not like those reckless fools that Kakashi calls genin. Trust me, you will not regret doing business with me."

Zabuza looked him straight in he eye and he returned the look, unwavering. The Jounin eye smiled and chuckled. "You're one interesting kid. Must be strong too if you were able to defeat Haku so easily. What is your name? You obviously know mine."

"Her heart is not cold enough to defeat me." He replied, "I am Uzumaki Naruto."

"And a medic like you does?" Zabuza questioned, ignoring the prodding in the back of his mind, telling him that he should know that name.

Naruto scoffed, "Medics are often the coldest of people, the greatest manipulators of man. When we save someone's life, they love us, they are grateful to us - but what they don't know is what we really do behind the scenes. Regular humans could not handle being a medic because there are often times when we make the decisions on whether or not someone lives or dies. We use them in order to fulfill our own need for answers, our greed, us medics will do whatever it takes to solve a puzzle."

A slight crazed look entered his eyes, "I have killed men, women, children, infants and hell, even babies for the sake of knowledge, for the sake of saving other lives. Regular people look up to us because they need us. They don't know what it means to be a doctor. They could never comprehend our truth - all they see are healers, the greatest of their kind, selfless, maybe even heroic. They are wrong."

"Say there are five babies with the same, unknown disease. In five hours, they will all die, and the disease is already spreading rapidly throughout the entire hospital infecting other babies. You have three choices of treatment and you know that as a doctor, only one will work. Will you take a gamble and give all the babies one treatment that might fail? No, true medics place three different babies on the different treatments and see which one works. Two will die but you would have saved the others who quickly becoming infected. This is what it means to be a medic. People want to become doctors because they think that no matter what, they can find the answer, and they think that they can save everyone. The truth is...you cannot. We play with lives to save lives. Did we kill two babies as if it were a game? Yes. Did we solve the puzzle and save lives? Yes. Will people ever see it that way if they knew the truth? No, all they will see is the failure of two dead babies - ignoring that fact that we saved a hundred others."

"One death is a tragedy." He sighed, "One thousand deaths is a statistic - the sad truth of how the human psyche sees things."

Zabuza looked at the boy for a moment, "Never knew being a medic sucked so much."

"Not really, I get paid a lot." Was his conversational reply, "Just giving a little insight. It really annoys me when people think that becoming a medic is so easy."

The man nodded, "Whatever. I care not for medics, I am a shinobi."

"That is exactly my point. Now, will you just accept my offer? Or will you go to battle tomorrow and allow whatever that will happen to run it's course?"

It was silent for a few minutes but Naruto did not back down or show weakness. The Jounin sighed after a while. Zabuza had gone through his impressions of the kid and the pros and cons of agreeing to this.

In the end, Zabuza reminded himself of his ultimate goal, rather then the need to survive.

"You have convinced me kid. Now then, what's the plan?"

"Simple. I want you to kill every single employee that Gato has in this building. This is his main headquarters - from here, I will be able to issue any command as I please. I will replace his employees with my own."

The man nodded, "I see. That will be no problem." He put his sword down. "May I have my apprentice back?"

Naruto nodded and threw Haku over to him carelessly.

Zabuza untied the girl's gag and woke her up. Eyes widened, she seemed relieved that Zabuza was ok. "Zabuza-sama! That medic, he had this insane idea, this proposition-"

"I accepted." She was shocked by that admission.

"B-but what about the hunters?"

Naruto stepped in, "I will send out an unknown letter to Kiri stating that missing ninja Momochi Zabuza is currently wandering at the borders of Kumo. That should direct them far enough away from you guys I hope."

The man nodded, "It's perfect. As long as everyone here dies, we will be in the clear and nobody will ever know of this meeting. Now...the deal is done."

"Indeed." They shook hands. "I promise to deliver my end of the promise by the end of the week. You will have your army and bases, and I will have my fifty percent and control of this company's movements."

_"Thirty-five actually." _He grudgingly reminded himself mentally. "We have an accord, Demon of the Bloody Mist. Good luck."

The Jounin nodded and looked to his apprentice, "You follow me but don't do anything. I will personally kill every single person in this building." Haku nodded shakily.

Naruto watched as the two proceeded to go down to the other parts of the building. Very soon, this building would be empty and not a sound would be heard. The silent killer, Zabuza, had definitely earned his name.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning)!" He hit his hand to the floor like before. This time however, from the cloudy pop revealed another one of his foxes. This one, unlike the previous three, was a female creature. Her fur coat was a light, majestic purple and her eyes could be compared to that of a pink stone.

"Hime." Naruto spoke. "I have a long term assignment for you."

The female fox nodded, "Of course Naruto-kun. By the way, it is Hime-sama. Please do not forget again."

Naruto sweat dropped, "...Right, of course. Sorry. Anyways, I've just bought my first company and I need you to run it in my stead."

The fox's eyes lit up in excitement, "Oh! So you've decided to become an entrepreneur then? I'm so proud of you Naruto-kun. Instead of lazing around in the office all day like you used to, you've finally become proactive in your career."

The blonde sighed and relayed to her the deal he made with Zabuza. "Sounds like fun. But really, you should have haggled more out of him." She told him in a scolding tone.

"I didn't wish to push too hard and risk a fight him. He had the area advantage today. I took the safe route this time." He replied, "Besides, I got what I wanted."

"Right, right. Alright, this is gonna be so much fun Naruto-kun!" She said, "What do you want to do first?"

"Mind as well end this country's suffering. Once they complete the bridge, they'll be on their way to prosperity and corruption once again. I want you to focus fifty percent of Gato's shipping business in order to help Momochi Zabuza achieve his goals - trust me, this will help in the long run if I'm right. I want twenty percent withdrawn directly and transferred over to my personal account, make it as discreet as possible - Don't worry about time, I'm patient. The last thirty percent, I want to keep the money flowing. Just...clean the business up."

"As you wish, Naruto-kun. You will be keeping the twenty percent?"

_"Five actually." _Naruto thought, "Yes. It is more then enough."

"Alright. Henge (Transformation)!" The purple fox transformed. Now, instead of a creature, she now had the visage of a woman with purple hair, glasses and enough jewels to paint her as a sort of sophisticated accountant. She stood at about Naruto's height and a single fox earring on her left lobe. Her eyes were still pink and she had square, unframed glasses.

"Gato Industries is now unofficially under your command, Naruto-kun."

The blonde smiled, "Ah...don't you just love it when a plan comes together? Oh and have our new 'employees' re-construct the area around here, it's too damn gloomy."

* * *

(Elsewhere)

"Zabuza-sama?"

"What is it Haku?" The man grunted, slitting the throat of another bandit. "Man these guys are boring."

"Why did you accept his proposition?" The younger shinobi asked. "That boy...he's so powerful and the look in his eyes displays nothing but greed and insanity."

"You exaggerate too much." The elder man sighed, "Sometimes in life, you just have cut the deal that benefits you the most. Besides, I want the Mizukage's head on a platter."

_"Mei, I will be there soon. With real help this time."_

* * *

(Sometime later - A few days)

Kakashi sighed in relief as he watched the bridge attach onto the second island - now allowing this country more opportunities to trade with other neighboring ones - and ending his team's first C turned A ranked mission. It was an odd week, seeing as how he had suspected Zabuza to strike at them once again after recovering from injury. He never returned at the day he predicted. In fact, that day was the same day rumors of Gato's death had begun to spread...effectively raising the moral of Wave Country.

Gato had apparently passed away and the new ownership had promised to help Wave back up to their feet, a much needed boost for the country.

His genin team were relieved that they didn't have to fight the skilled assassin again and truthfully, so was Kakashi. It had been years since he had fought an opponent of Zabuza's skill level and no doubt, it would have all ended badly in some way.

Naruto seemed calm about the entire situation but to be fair, he had been keeping the same facial expression the entire time since he'd arrived. That one day when he went out till midnight, returning later to say that he was investigating something he heard in the village the other day, that struck Kakashi as odd - but if the blonde didn't feel the need to tell him anything, he wouldn't force his hands. Naruto probably knew that he wouldn't question him, after all, they were friends...right? Kakashi sighed, not wanting to dwell to deep in that topic.

It's not like he could have forced the blonde anyways.

"Mission complete. Congratulations team."

"Yeah!" Kiba yelled, "First step to greatness!"

Sakura just smiled and glanced over at Sasuke, who kept a passive look. But if one looked closely, they could see a happy glint in his eyes.

Kakashi still couldn't help but feel that the resident medic had something to do with all of this - but just this time, the Jounin was just relieved that this disaster of a mission was complete.

The bridge was named after their team - the "Seven Kings" bridge they had dubbed in the end much to the amusement of his genin team. Team 7 traveled back to Konoha the next day at a regular pace. Once they got back, Naruto returned to the hospital and Kakashi reported to the Hokage.

Life had seemingly returned to normal.

* * *

(Hospital)

The blonde doctor couldn't help but feel relieved after such an annoying trip. He really did dislike the climate of just about every other village other then his own - so he spent the majority of his time walking up the stairs thinking how lucky he was to be born in Konoha and not some crappy desert.

When he arrived at his office, Naruto felt a presence from within. Narrowing his eyes, the blonde took out a kunai from within his vest and carefully opened the door.

He narrowed his eyes, recognizing the figure before him.

"What are _you _doing here?"

The figure turned around and smiled, it was not a friendly visage at all.

* * *

**_END_**

_I know that was a lame cliffhanger. I hope you don't feel that Wave ended too anti-climatically...I mean after all, no battles. I wouldn't blame you if you did feel that way. I planned for Naruto to lure out Haku and defeat him. I didn't want to needlessly waste all of your time by stretching this part out too long._

_But I also wanted to introduce his insight, his views and his foxes. I thought it was a good idea._

_Chuunin Exams are next! So excited, it's one of my favorite arcs in the entire show. Probably my favorite arc, actually._


	5. The Root of the Matter

_**Chapter 4**_

_**"The Root of the Matter"**_

Naruto walked around to his desk, a large piece of majestic wood that stood out greatly between his fairly big office. He was proud of the way he kept his mountains of files organized - in a counter that had numerous slots for scrolls and many other miscellaneous items, all of which were labeled alphabetically in order. Other files were arranged in terms of urgency and relevancy.

His office was the epitome of professionalism. On his walls were dozens of framed accomplishments, from degrees to awards and pictures of the blonde with many other famous doctors. He even had one with the apprentice of Tsunade of the Sannin, when they had met when Naruto himself was on vacation not too long ago. Unfortunately, he did not get to meet the Sannin herself to his annoyance. Other than that, the walls were completely white other than the several medical charts posted upon them.

As soon as he made his way around, he pulled out one of the counters and took out a single water bottle. The blonde then sat down, eying the figure before him cautiously.

"Excuse my rudeness honorable Elder of the Council, I didn't know you were coming - but I guess you Council Members are too good for trivial decor such as setting up a simple appointment, that much is clear." He said sarcastically, "Is there something I can do for you, Danzo-_sama?_ Need a check up? I'm not sure if you know this - but we do have a walk-in clinic right down stairs on the ground floor. If you need help finding it, I will happily call a nurse for you. After all, I wouldn't want you losing your way around here. Can't be too sure with the elderly you know."

He didn't stop talking, "Of course, if you need help registering for the old folks take care center, I'll happily refer you to my colleague, Shin-san. He's especially gentle with the old and crippled." The blonde then eyed his right arm. "...Hm."

"...Are you done?" The old man's voice was deep and ragged, a seasoned tone that indicated that he was not effected by a single word the blonde had said. Naruto shrugged and sipped his bottle of water very loudly for seemingly no reason. "...I think you and I have much in common."

"Sorry." Naruto replied, "I love women. _Young _women." He replied in a dead serious tone.

Danzo ignored the barb professionally, "According to my sources...you have made quite an interesting deal, no?"

The blonde span around to face the large window of his office that was behind his desk, conveniently using the only cool thing he liked about his chair, "Oh, you mean my special order for the Kunoichi Gone Wild, the special twentieth anniversary edition? Yes...buy one magazine, receive ten pinky points _and_ two movies at an incredible fifty percent off discount. Quite an excellent deal if I do say so myself."

"Answer me, why are you helping Momochi overthrow that fool of a Mizukage? What's in it for you? You would only be helping another country gain an edge on us. Do you see the danger in the bet you have made? What's your plot?"

Naruto did not answer immediately. "I spent the majority of my day imagining what Rin-sensei looked like in a tight, skimpy nurse's outfit." He sounded irritated, "And then I return home to you, one of the leaf's most accomplished soldiers, nearly a century past his prime - scolding me for whatever reason. It's not good for my health you know."

"Answer me, Jinchuuriki."

"I do not answer to that title, geezer."

Danzo quieted once more but Naruto could almost feel the annoyance building in the man. He mentally patted his back for the accomplishment, "Perhaps if you had made an appointment, I would have been more cooperative. I believe I'm clear for..." The blonde waved his hand around, as if showing that he was truly thinking, "Ten years from now? Think you can make it?"

"You take me for a fool." Danzo said, "What is going to stop me from alerting the Hokage of your little side game? Who do you think you are?"

"I think I have every right to buy any kind porn I want to, old man."

"You're helping the enemy nation with your actions. With the Yondaime Mizukage gone, the Mist will once again rise under a new leadership. You know of their potential - the amount of bloodlines they have is staggering even despite the 'purge' - the Terumi, Hoshigaki and I've even heard of surviving members of the Yuki clan among several so called 'dead' clans.. They are dangerous and are still powerful. With Momochi Zabuza returning to the rebellion with allies, they will surely win!"

Naruto shrugged. Danzo glared at the back of the offending boy.

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked in reply. "I am not a secret agent. I am not _your _soldier. I only answer to one man."

"And who do you answer to, exactly? Because it damn sure isn't your Hokage." Naruto didn't answer the question, rather he let the older man continue his little rant.

"Why not answer to me?" Danzo finished.

"..." Naruto smiled and then roared with laughter, a mocking tone laced into it. The elder man only stood there, listening silently, his face was completely blank as the blonde continued to guffaw.

"So that was your purpose here all along?" He continued to laugh, "Seriously? What are you gonna do, blackmail me into working for you? You do know that I have no shame in what I've done. I killed a passable dictator, on my way to helping a rebellion overthrow a genocide artist and I've brought a possible future ally in the Mist, the Bloody Mist. All good, beneficial deeds, don't you think? Of course - that's how I will twist the story if you ever brought it forth to the Council."

The blonde continued his monologue,"It is funny because you think you are the one holding all the cards. Sure, you may know things here and there but you have no edge on me. I care not if you reveal my status as a Jinchuuriki and I care not if you went over to Iwa and declared to them that I am the son of their most infamous enemy."

Danzo's gaze darkened, "Fool, you take after your damned mother - an idiot who knew nothing, is nothing and will always be nothing. A failed Jinchuuriki in every aspect of the title. Too cowardly to dig deeper into it's power, too weak to even survive mere birth. A woman with no use at all."

"Watch your filthy mouth." Naruto turned around to meet the man. Danzo did not miss the aura of the boy change as his eyes slowly began showing hints of blood red.

"You may be a great shinobi but in this hospital, I am your better."

"So arrogant, you are nothing like when we first met. So eager to earn the love of his nation and the acknowledgment of his colleagues. Now all I see before me is the shell of a boy that had so much talent, so much power...And for what? You are not living to the potential your father has passed on to you!"

"My power is my own."

"..." Danzo turned around and began to walk to the door, the sounds of his footsteps erased completely from the world. "You are in the big leagues now, boy. I've come to warn you of one thing. If you ever bring danger to my nation, I will have you eliminated, powerful shinobi or not. One man...no, one boy's little game is not more important then an entire nation."

Naruto shrugged, "Of course." Was his only reply. He did not hear the man leave the room, despite seeing him, a testament to his skills as a veteran shinobi. He then watched as nearly ten seconds later, another person walked in. Naruto was annoyed that said person had no sense to knock but he supposed the door was open anyways.

"Naruto-sensei?" It was a girl, quite older then himself but not quite past her twenties yet. She had brown hair and light, blue eyes.

Naruto only stared, his previously mediocre mood now soured by the last confrontation.

"Um..." She hesitated, "Sorry, who was that?" She seemed a bit shy for some reason. Naruto couldn't imagine why she would ask that sort of question.

"Nobody." He put false, charming grin, "Now then, is there anything I can help you with?"

She nodded rapidly, "Hai! Rin-sama said that if I were to ever see you here, I should send you over to her..." She said promptly.

"Fine." Was all he said, standing up. "I'll be there in a few."

* * *

(The Hokage's Tower)

"How was he, Kakashi?"

The silver haired man sighed quietly. He looked over to his leader, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, and spoke. "In terms of performance?"

The old man nodded, "I need to know how powerful he has become."

"Unfortunately then, I cannot tell you much. Once he arrived, no conflict truly arose and I didn't get to see him in action." Kakashi replied. "...But I can safely say that he's above genin level."

Sarutobi just sat there and scanned the man's face. "Thank you for stating the greatest understatement of the century. Now, I'm sure you know that I know that you're not saying everything on your mind. You may speak, I don't bite."

Kakashi sighed again, this time more openly.

"He's hiding something."

The Hokage nodded, "That much is obvious. Now...what do you have in mind?"

Kakashi began stirring, thinking. "There was this one time. The day I predicted when Zabuza would return, he left during the night. Told me...that he went to 'investigate' something he heard in town or something along those lines. Came back past midnight. From then on, he was calm, never talked much or even looked a bit worried about any coming confrontation."

"Naruto-kun is often very calm." Sarutobi replied easily, "Nothing short of an apocalypse will truly unhinge him, I believe."

Kakashi nodded, and then continued to say what was on his mind. "He beat up my genin."

Silence.

"That's their problem." The old man replied. Kakashi nodded again.

"Well, that's all I have for you. Everything else is in the official report."

Sighing, "Very well. I will have to give him other assignments-"

"No."

A voice spoke up from the door. Walking in was a very tall man, taller then Kakashi by almost a head - his long white hair was like a lion's mane and he wore an very unique uniform for a shinobi, bathed in red and some white. On his forehead was a metal band that had the symbol of 'oil'.

Jiraiya of the Sannin was a very carefree man but in this meeting, it did not show on his face. Instead, he showed a very grim look, sparking the interest of the other two tenants.

"Jiraiya-kun?"

The legendary shinobi walked up before the Hokage's desk, "We can't take him away. We're going to need him for what's to come."

The elder man narrowed his eyes, "And what is that?"

Jiraiya took out a scroll and placed it on the desk, unfurling it for the Hokage to read.

"Orochimaru is on the move. My agent has informed me that he is planning a large scale attack on the village - an attack that will happen around the time of the Chuunin Exams here. We cannot afford to lose any good shinobi right now - Naruto is the best field medic that we have active here, next to the Head herself." Jiraiya said.

It was a grave silence that followed, "War." All three men were veterans of it themselves. All three were seen as great heroes of war, warriors who were thought to be invincible in combat, even the though it was quite the opposite.

War was terrible, they all knew that and remembered the horrors of it. They lived through several different stories that have been told to children in their sleep, all three of them having been main characters in some tales actually. But it was different for them. They thought not of themselves but for the other generation, the new one who had yet experience it. Bloodshed changed people, war destroyed people.

The silver haired Jounin remembered war as vividly as they came. After all, he had lost one of his greatest friends to it and many other friendly colleagues. Men and women who were better then him had died in war, all forgotten by the new generation, which was the worse part of it all.

Heroes are usually counted in single numbers by the masses.

In Kakashi's eyes, just about everybody on the memorial stone was a hero.

"Damn." Kakashi sighed, "This is a damn shame."

They all nodded in agreement, "What's the plan?"

"Preparation for defense of course." Was all Sarutobi said, "I will be calling for a Jounin meeting. This will be the prime topic."

The Hokage stood up and walked behind his chair to stare at his village, the home that he so cherished and loved more then anything else in the world. Everyone in the village, he felt as if they connected on a higher level - Sarutobi often felt that he was the protector of them all as the Hokage. Not since the second shinobi war had a direct attack been launched onto this village. Neighboring nations often feared attacking another village's home due to the sheer disadvantage they would have in terrain.

But this time was different. A traitor who knew the land, a man who's power was great enough to gather his own army, a man who did not care for the well being of his own men was now his enemy. His student, Orochimaru of the Sannin.

"If Orochimaru wants war..." The Hokage said, "He will have it. I will soon begin reassembling our village's greatest fighting force." Kakashi widened his eyes.

"You mean...?"

Jiraiya sighed, "It it necessary. Suna and Iwa will be participating in the exams, aren't they?"

"Yes." Sarutobi said, "They will. Will Suna turn?"

"I cannot be sure. They could go either way...depends on what cards we play."

Kakashi then spoke up, "So...no rookies for the exams this year? I was gonna nominate my team this year."

"Actually..." Jiraiya replied, "I think it would be a better idea if you do nominate them. If you want to, of course. If we show them that we are confident enough to nominate even our rookies, it will plant a seed of doubt in their minds."

"That won't even scare Orochimaru." Kakashi said with a sigh. "But hey, at least I get to see my genin in action." He was ignored.

"He must have another goal here...but what? Attacking the village so openly...he's no fool. Either he has an incredible weapon that can assure him complete victory, or he has an underlying motive." The Hokage observed.

Jiraiya sighed, "I'll look into it." And with that, he turned to leave the office.

"Kakashi, you are dismissed."

The man nodded and left as well, leaving only Sarutobi to stare down at his village in solemn silence.

* * *

(Hospital)

Naruto sat patiently in a room, a magazine in his hands as he waited for his current master to finish up with a client. It annoyed him really, the priorities of people who had the gall to this to him. At the moment, he'd been waiting for over an hour for seemingly no reason and if there was one thing he truly hated, it was to be kept waiting - the blond doctor was not a patient man, he never was, even as a child.

He had tried to enter by force, only to be booted out by the hot headed Hospital Head. It was all rather hypocritical.

"Uzumaki, Naruto." A woman called out, "Rin-sama will be seeing you now."

Naruto's left eye twitched in annoyance, _"Do I look like a patient or something?" _He mentally grumbled.

As he walked through the double doors, the blonde came face to face with a rather beautiful woman. She had shoulder trimmed brown hair and bright brown eyes. The woman was sitting down, looking quite relaxed despite being surrounded by several mountains of paperwork. Like most of the doctors in the hospital, she wore a long, white overcoat above her Jounin vest and on her forehead, she wore the traditional Konoha headband.

Beside her desk, an average sized looking purple dog slept peacefully.

"Sensei." Naruto said, "Must you treat me like some random patient? By the way, you aren't allowed to bring pets into the Hospital."

She looked to the animal sleep peacefully beside her leg, and smiled. "Cha-chan must have snuck in again." Naruto rolled his eyes at the blatant lie, Rin then smiled kindly, "And yes - otherwise, you'll just be barging into my office like you own the Hospital. Can't have that attitude now, can I?"

Naruto just grumbled incoherently. Rin just chuckled, "Anyways, I wanted to ask you one thing."

"Yes?"

"I hear you've just been on a mission with 'Kashi. How is he?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "Look, if you want to have a sexual relationship with him, leave me out of it. I don't need to hear about his sexual escapades with my boss every time we meet up every now and then."

Rin looked briefly annoyed, "It's not like that, idiot." She replied, "He hasn't visited me in ages." She pouted at him.

"T-that's not my problem - hell if I know what that man does in his free time."

_"Other than the obvious thing." _They both thought, reminded of the Jounin's favorite book series.

"Seriously, this is why you called me up here?" He seemed annoyed, "Go get a bird, paper and write the man a damn letter. Either way, the both of you need to get a damn room!"

The woman just let out an incredibly exaggerated sigh and looked at him with a hint of pity, something that annoyed him even further.

"Of course. I'll take your advice into serious consideration." She replied, "Anyways, I have something for you." She picked up a scroll from the side of her desk and threw it at him.

Naruto looked opened the scroll and read the details of the patient, his eyes widening as he hit the bottom. "What in the-" He continued reading the details as he kept unfurling the scroll.

"Unbelievable...!" He muttered, a smile on his face and a focus unlike anything ever before.

"I know. Get on it."

He nodded and left curtly, without looking back even once. As Rin looked back down to her paperwork, a bird fell down beside her open window. She went to go pick up the message tied on it's leg.

"Jounin meeting...heh, guess I might get to catch up with the ol' dog after all."

* * *

(Later that day)

The Head of the Hospital walked swiftly down the hallways, her white coat bellowing in her wake as she made her way to the Jounin command room. The room was huge, fit for nearly fifty Jounin which was the approximate amount they had on their current roster, excluding ANBU members. Every shinobi village had about the same numbers in their ranks but in the end, only fifty was the average amount of Jounin - the rank was not easy to attain after all. One needed years of training to make it to even chuunin, let alone Jounin.

Rin soon came face to face with a closed door, quickly opening it up, she grinned as she saw several of her friends there. "Nai, Gen, Asuma."

Yuuhi Kurenai turned and smiled, she was a rather new Jounin that Rin had met years ago in a conference of Kunoichi. "Rin. We rarely see you around now a days."

"Workaholic." Genma spoke up, "The exact opposite of your teammate."

Shiranui Genma was a fairly seasoned veteran for all intent and purposes, his resume ranking him very high on the food chain in Konoha. As a former member of the Yondaime Hokage's personal guards, he along with a few others were the only people in the village who knew how to perform the famous Hiraishin technique (Flying Thunder God) - the move that slew hundreds of Iwa shinobi.

"Hey, I get out every now and then." Rin defended, "Where's 'Kashi?"

Asuma rose a brow and replied, "Really, are you seriously, seriously asking that question? And you call yourself his teammate."

Rin twitched, "Why yes, I tend to ignore the more idiotic rumors of my teammate. Chances are, he's already here and is reading his book under a henge. If he's late, then it will only be for his genin."

"..." A suspicious look Jounin suddenly coughed, making Rin smirk. "It's that one." She pointed.

Asuma widened his eyes, "...I take what I said back."

The 'suspicious' looking Jounin sighed and unveiled himself, revealing a silver haired man who wore his headband like a eye patch.

"Rin-chhhaaaaaannnn." Kakashi whined, as if he were a child who had been caught in the middle of his prank. "Why do you have to ruin my fun?"

Rin just smirked and hushed him, "Quiet 'Kashi, or must I reveal to the entire Jounin roster your most terrible secret!"

Kakashi narrowed his lone eye, "Ok."

The group-sweat dropped at the childish behavior being shown by the two grown shinobi.

"Anyways...you haven't visited me in ages. Where have you been?" She said to him in a scolding tone. Kakashi tried to escape to his book, only for it to be taken away from him by the woman.

"...Sorry." He said, "My genin suck. I've been thinking of ways I could make them better - so I've been going through books to see ways I could teach them in more effective ways."

"If you were having trouble with taking care of a bunch of genin, then you should have come to me." Rin replied, "I've trained fine shinobi."

And this was true, all of her students had all gone on to become great ninja. Her first official genin squad were now all members of the ANBU and her latest student, well, he's Uzumaki Naruto.

"You copied sensei's MO, that's why. I've been trying to be original."

Rin just chuckled, "Coming from the Copy Ninja, that's a laugh. And I do not copy sensei! I've changed things here and there."

Just as they were about to continue, the door opened up, revealing the Hokage and his advisors, along with another man who many recognize as Shimura Danzo, one of the more decorated soldiers in Konoha.

Turning her attention, she went on to listen to the Hokage - intent on listening to what he wished to say.

(x)

Sarutobi walked up to the front of the shinobi and stared them all down, "I wish to waste no time today. Koharu, will you please get on with the introduction?"

The old woman, another member of the Council of Shinobi, nodded. "Of course. I'm sure most of you think you know why you're all here." Many of the shinobi nodded, many thinking along the lines of the Chuunin Exams - Kakashi seemed downcast, something that worried his teammate beside him.

"With Chuunin Exams, we have another issue that comes." Homura, the Sandaime's other advisor spoke, "On the horizon, the traitor Orochimaru has been building an army according to reliable sources."

The caused multiple gasps, especially amongst the rookie Jounin. Rin seemed calm but as she looked to her friends, she saw Asuma sigh, Genma shake his head and Kurenai widen her eyes, seemingly contemplating the news altogether.

"And according to Jiraiya's information-" Sarutobi showed them the scroll said man bad brought, "He is planning to strike during the third stage of the Chuunin Exams - when we planned to invite the other Kage to watch the tournament we usually have."

There was slight whispering in the room - this did not bother the Hokage at all. The warning of war often caused panic even in the greatest shinobi after all.

"We must prepare accordingly." Danzo spoke up, "What is your plan?"

"There are various angles we can plan from. I wish to consult our Chief Strategist." He nodded towards Nara Shikaku, "I've told Shikaku-san about this earlier. You may speak."

Nara Shikaku was definitely not what many people would see as Chief Strategist material. On the outside, he seemed very lazy and unmotivated to do any work but what most people didn't know was the sharp mind he held. The Nara clan was famous for their usage of shadow techniques, but Shikaku was especially known for his keen intellect. He wore a Jounin vest and long black pants, the standard attire.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." His usual lazy voice had a hardened tone, commanding the audience's attention. "I believe it is best that we plan an immediate counter attack in conjunction with a pre-emptive attack. This way, the battle - if this conflict escalates that far - will turn to our favor. As long as we command the tempo of battle, we will win."

Danzo backed him up, "My thoughts exactly."

"As well, I think Orochimaru has another purpose here. What is it, I cannot know for sure so I have asked Jiraiya to update me on that front - so I wish for you all to keep a watch out for suspicious activity. I also ask you all to prepare accordingly." Sarutobi said, "Rin-san, how is the current state of the Hospital and the medical ninja corps?"

"We are prepared for any type of conflict sir. As long as we are able to evacuate the wards before any battle begins, then all of the medic-nin under my command will be free to back up the fighting force without set back." She replied curtly.

Sarutobi nodded before looking towards the group once again. "There is one last announcement I would like to make." He said and the shinobi listened on.

"This must not be mentioned to any chuunin, genin and below." Sarutobi started, "As of today, I will be reforming the Ex-ANBU Division, _Lotus_."

That caused several widening of the eyes through out the veteran shinobi. "Seriously?" Genma asked, "Damn...I guess it's all or nothing."

"That will be all." He said, "Certain members of you will be receiving notes of recruitment. The ANBU are currently being briefed by their Commander on this - the Lotus will return. We will follow up this meeting soon with another update. So I ask you all to please, prepare yourselves for the worst. Genin need not know yet but train them with vigor."

The Jounin then began to file out. Rin grabbed Kakashi and walked out quickly, her eyes a blazed.

War was just weeks away after all.

* * *

(Hospital)

"Tell me..." Naruto smiled widely as he sat down, his eyes completely focused on the person before him. "I just want to know."

Said figure looked quite terrified - after all, the doctor that was attending her was smiling like a creep. His eyes had a look in them that were quite unfamiliar.

"Really, I have to know. How do you do it?" Naruto said, eying the girl in front. She had red hair and an unknown headband on her forehead - well, according to him anyways. If she had stood, Naruto estimated that the girl would have been shorter then him by maybe four inches.

"I...I don't know." She had been found outside the village and brought here, seemingly injured. When the doctors found her, she had numerous bite marks on her left arm, something that alarmed the doctors at first when they couldn't cure it.

Further testing showed that her arm was a source of a special chakra, a chakra they had never seen before. All the testing doctors knew was the effect of this chakra - as they extracted it, they had found great healing properties. Powerful healing properties.

"How...how? This ability has been lost for years. The last known to have this sort of...talent...were the Uzumaki of Uzushiogakure. And they're all pretty much dead." Naruto said. "What is your name?"

The red headed girl looked at him, "Karin, I think."

"And where are you from...?" Naruto prodded, "I need a history. If you want me to heal these marks, I will need it."

She didn't answer for a while but finally sighed, "I don't know."

Naruto just stared.

And then he smiled, a weird glint in his eyes now. Whether it was passion or insanity, the girl could not identify it.

_"This is interesting."_

* * *

_**END**_

_Thanks for reading. I know many of you all have asked for longer chapters but I'm just going at the pace that I feel is right. I will try to make each chapter lengthy but if it ends at say, 5000 words, then that will be all.  
_

_Oh and I'm sure some of you get annoyed that I capitalize Jounin but leave genin and chuunin un-capitalized. I don't know why I do that, it's just a habit and it feels right.  
_

_By the way, I feel like I should mention one thing. There is a difference between being a pervert and being very sarcastic.  
_


	6. Nine Rookies

_**Chapter 5**_

_**"Nine Rookies"**_

Rin sighed as she took another sip of her favorite 'after work' drink, a nice swig of warm sake. At the moment, she sat at a rather tame shinobi exclusive bar, the barkeeper being an ex-shinobi himself who retired after the second shinobi war. She was grateful for being able to retreat here after a long, tiring day at work and sometimes, the barkeeper would listen to her day's troubles. That was not necessary today however now that she was able to be with her few friends.

Kakashi sat next to her right, also taking drinks every now and then and for once, not bringing out his book to annoy people with. Kurenai and Asuma sat side by side, something that amused Rin to no end. The two were quite an intimate pair and that was a fairly interesting - she always enjoyed watching her friends banter with one another, it was cute in her opinion. The veteran medic had a funny feeling that their relationship would escalate soon, but not too early though. She couldn't wait until she was able to officially tease them about being too intimate.

Genma, another one of her friends who sat at their little table, spoke up. "Word on the street is, the rookies are pretty good this year." He said, "Any of you putting them into the Exams?"

Kurenai, Asuma and Kakashi shared a brief look, "Possibly. The upcoming...thing-" Asuma said vaguely, not wanting to risk a chuunin or genin overhearing, "...has me worried. I don't know if I should, they might be caught off guard. I was going to though..."

"Jiraiya-sama told me that perhaps, it was a better idea if we did elect them in. Of course, he said to only do so if we believed that they were ready - I'm sending in my squad. They'll have trouble but overall, they should pass the test."

Kurenai cringed, "I'm not so sure about my kids. They are talented but very undisciplined - I do not think they can make it very far if I entered them at this stage. Hinata needs more confidence, Shino is not able to communicate that well with the team and Yakumo..." She trailed off, a deep frown on her face, "...she isn't getting along very well with her teammates."

"What happened?" Rin spoke up, "A team that doesn't work well together isn't a team at all."

"She lost control of her powers again." The red eyed woman said, "Yakumo has genjutsu powers unlike anything I've ever seen before. The ability to make some of her illusions into a reality is something we all want - but it's a power that is far from her current control. When she tried to cast a regular genjutsu, making Shino think he was on fire...but then her powers took over, it did not end well for either of them."

They all nodded, "So the Aburame got burnt to a crisp then?" Genma said, "Must have been a sad day for his mental status."

"He was stuck in the hospital for a week with terrible burn injuries, so he thinks. His entire colony of bugs were eliminated in a flash according to the genjutsu's power." The woman confirmed, "Bad, bad day."

"A power like that is hard to control and is fairly hard to counter." Kakashi said, "Self-control is a difficult practice when you have an evil entity in your body. From official records, the Ido of the Kurama clan is said to be a very manipulative monster."

"Ido?" Genma asked, "I've heard about it and how it's involved with the Kurama clan. Not sure what it is though."

"Basically an evil, uncontrollable part of her mind - only once in a generation will any Kurama ever see the evil of it though. Everyone has one...Yakumo's is just more sentient and demonic - we had to get Jiraiya-sama to seal the damn thing to get it under control so she could even live."

Rin then smiled, catching Kurenai off guard. "I can ask Naruto to help train her if you want. I cannot think of anyone else that can help her tame an inner evil."

Kurenai looked a bit hopeful at that but her hope was halted when Kakashi sighed, "Rin...Naruto doesn't have the patience nor discipline to help someone do that. If you haven't already noticed, he hates wasting his time with things he doesn't care about."

"...Maybe you're right but I'll ask him anyway." She replied, not wanting to let her friend down, "I'll ask him when he's done with his current case. Damn kid's been locked up in the hospital for days ever since I gave him his new assignment."

"Anyways, how about your kids, Asuma?" Genma said. "Kakashi seemed confident in his little troopers. Any insight on the next generation Ino-Shika-Chou trio? I heard they were pretty good back in the academy...well, except the Nara."

"Lazy." Was all Asuma said, "Talented but unmotivated and lazy, kind of like Kurenai's kids. Shikamaru is actually pretty brilliant for the runner up dead last - kid's IQ is literally through the roof. Ino has potential but spends so much time fawning over the Uchiha and Chouji...well, he's on the same boat as Shikamaru minus the super IQ part. Other than that, they are very, very talented in short bursts."

"Man..." Rin muttered, "It must suck to train kids like that. All of my genin were all high energy - they knew how to put work day in and day out. Guess I just got lucky then."

They all looked at her with a sort of annoyance, Rin never failed to boast about her students. For years, she would talk on and on about how proud she was of her ability to train excellent and top of the line ninja. Of course, it wasn't a bad thing to do at all, Rin just loved to shove it in their faces from time to time.

After all, how many people got to say they trained one of the top medical prodigies in the world?

"You got lucky." Kakashi muttered, "Having great students doesn't make you a great teacher. With Naruto's lin-" Rin slapped the man's face, a look of warning in her eyes. Kakashi sighed, "...linked talents in multiple fields, of course he was bound to become a great shinobi."

"He is an amazing medic, fixed me up when I got this bad wound on my chest." Genma sighed, "Kind of an asshole though. No offense, Rin." She just laughed it off.

"Don't worry about it." The woman replied, her mood now solemn though. "He's just had a hard time these past few years. Kid used to be so happy and carefree...but ever since that incident with his team, he's been down. We all go through it but a kid with his kind of passion and commitment, he takes it harder then anyone else."

"Not to mention the stress of being a medic-nin. He used to work a lot more then he does now, though that's probably why he transferred to the diagnostics division. Good pay, low work and a lot of time to do nothing."

"Where was he before?" Kurenai asked. Rin took another sip of sake before speaking.

"He was the ace of the medic-nin combat division, the top guy and if he were older with more experience, kid would have been the Head of the branch. But you know, not many people would have wanted to take orders from an eleven year old." They were all a bit surprised by the admission, "Naruto was a great medic-nin. He had a silver tongue, always able to manipulate patients and enemies into telling him what he...we needed to know - not to mention, he always had phenomenal combat abilities. Ever fought him up close? I suggest you don't unless your a Taijutsu specialist."

"Why?" Asuma asked, irked that such a young kid could be so powerful. "Medics usually keep their distance in a fight."

"Well, like you Asuma, his affinity is wind." That surprised the Jounin, "He developed a Taijutsu that only medics of his caliber could truly master - his form however, is based off one of the bases of Silat...or whatever he called it." She waved that part off, her knowledge of Taijutsu quite limited to Gai's crazed, passionate lectures of said subject.

"So...what does it do?" Genma asked, "Does it hurt?"

Rin just smiled mysteriously, "Eventually, yeah. His close quarter fighting style will eventually destroy you if you aren't careful - I eventually gave up trying to spar with him up close and personal. He can also battle from a distance with a multitude of wind ninjutsu. The kid is not an average shinobi, that's all I can tell you."

"Sounds tough." Asuma said, "Maybe I'll ask for a spar."

Kakashi just shook his head, "Like I said before, he doesn't like to waste his time anymore. Had you asked maybe three or four years ago, you might have gotten an enthusiastic yes...and maybe a chance to beat him."

The bearded Jounin twitched. "Hey, I'm pretty experienced." Kakashi just waved his hand back in forth and chuckled, his eyes closed indicating he was just joking.

"But really, he's tough. If he keeps getting better at this pace, he could be Hokage in only half a decade." Rin finished.

"So..." Kurenai continued, "What happened to him that made him...'an asshole'...as Genma kindly put it?"

Kakashi and Rin sighed, sharing a look. "It's not our story to tell." Rin said, "Don't worry about it. The past is in the past and he'll recover from it one day. Anyways, let's move on to another subject. Hopefully one more...cheerful."

"Right!" Asuma said, "I'm entering my kids in the Exam so...yeah! Making bets here and now."

They all sweat dropped, "...Didn't you just say that you weren't confident in them? And did you just make that decision on a whim?" Kurenai asked.

"Of course not. I just said they're lazy! Doesn't mean that I wasn't going to let them miss the chance to become chuunin. Wording my dear, wording."

"I'm entering my kids...so yeah, I'm taking that bet." Kakashi said, "You're going down, you know."

Kurenai sighed, "I'll have to take a rain check. I'm going to need a few days to evaluate my students before making a decision."

Rin just smirked, "Well-"

"HELLO MY YOUTHFUL FRIENDS!" They all shut up in that moment, almost afraid to turn around to see the man behind them. Rin finally gathered up the courage only to be blinded by green and the light shining from the man's smiling visage.

"Hey Gai." Rin said cheerfully, "How are you?"

"Why, I am doing great Rin-chan! The powers of youth has ignited my very soul today but alas, my team has just returned from a long C-rank so we cannot return to training today!"

_"I pity his genin." _Kakashi thought to himself.

"Oh, are you entering them in the chuunin exams this year, Gai?" The man smiled brightly, so bright that it nearly lit up the bar.

"Yes! I held them out last year but I believe they are now ready for the challenge as of now!"

"Really?" Asuma uttered out, "How about a little...bet? I think my genin could take on yours."

Rin stood up from her seat and put her hand on the bearded Jounin's forehead. Everyone watched with bewilderment as her hands glowed green. "He's not drunk...so why's he so stupid?" She muttered, causing the man to twitch.

"Hey...they're talented. I believe in them." Asuma defended. Rin rolled her eyes.

"Gai's team is powerful and experienced for their age. They would annihilate any of their opponents." Rin said, looking at Gai. "You've trained them well. Haven't seen any of your kids in the hospital in a while so I suppose they've been well."

"They have! Thank you for your concern Rin-chan! Lee has missed your care." He replied, "Perhaps you could come by and visit them! Tenten has admired you for a long time!"

Rin waved him off, "Sorry Gai, we're gonna get busy soon." She frowned, "You weren't here for the meeting the other day-"

"I know." His usual enthused voice now toned down, "I was told once I reported to Hokage-sama. I think almost every Jounin knows now. Will you be alerting Naruto-kun?" She shook her head.

"Even if I could, it's not like he'd care. As far as he's concerned, it'll only be another troublesome thing to worry about and I don't want to put anymore on his plate." Gai frowned.

"You should tell him just in case. He's a fine shinobi! It's better if he's properly prepared."

Kakashi then spoke up quietly, "The chuunin and genin will be alerted in time. After our preparations are set - we cannot afford to lose the element of surprise."

"He's right." Genma followed up, "Besides, if Naruto is as good as you all claim, he'll figure it out anyways."

They all shrugged, "Anyways." Kurenai sighed, having long been removed from the conversation. "I'm tired. You joining us?"

"Indeed!" Gai's enthusiasm returned, "Let us have a youthful time!"

Kakashi grumbled to himself and then took out his book. He liked Gai but the man could seriously be such an annoyance at times...not to mention, he kept flirting with Rin. It was very disturbing.

* * *

(Hospital)

"Naruto-sama!" A little blue fox spoke, climbing into the window of the high office.

"You've returned already, Sajin. What do you have for me? And where is Vulpone?" Naruto grinned as he looked up from his research papers. The boy had an entire different look then before. The fox noticed, and called him out on it with a grin. It wasn't often when he would see his boss in complete business mode.

"Glasses on, Naruto-sama? Must be a good case."

Naruto just sighed and pushed up the said rectangle shaped, unframed glasses to his eyes as it had been slipping off his face. "Some of these files have small letters...anyways, what do you have? Sajin."

"Sorry. Anyways, I got what you wanted...and in record time!" The fox carried a scroll with his tail. Jumping up to his master's desk, he neatly dropped it off before his eyes.

"I'll tell ya boss, getting into Uzushiogakure was hard as hell. So many damn whirlpools everywhere and the bridge was messed up, it looked ready to collapse in seconds." Naruto nodded.

"Yes, I remember my short field training trip to Uzu with Rin-sensei. It was a disaster." He replied, "I didn't get the opportunity to truly check up on every artifact there, including the medical records. Hopefully, they were in good condition?"

The fox nodded, "They were fine. It was hard to find the right files - but I eventually got it from some really hidden tiles at the hospital. These are reports on specific branches of the former Uzumaki clan and the various individuals who had the ability to literally transfer their own chakra to heal someone without side effects. Even back then, it was rare."

"That's the weird thing." Naruto muttered, "The 'without side effects' line you said - if that was the case, then why does Karin have bite marks on her arms? Why does it have to hurt her in order for this transfer of energy? She's a natural sensor according to my last evaluation session with her as well...her chakra control must be fantastic."

The fox shrugged, "I don't know anything about the human body, Naruto-sama, don't ask me."

The doctor rolled his eyes, "I was talking to myself. Anyways, you didn't answer my other question, where is Vulpone?"

Sajin shook his head, "Akira-sama wanted a word with him."

That was all Naruto needed to know. For almost half a decade, Naruto had held the fox contract in his possession and in that time, there always one iron rule that he knew that applied to all of the clan. And it was simple.

Always answer to the Boss Summon - Akira of the Moon, the Black Fox, the Killer. The fox went by several names if the blonde remembered correctly.

Naruto had met him only a few times in his life, but it was only for formalities mostly. The blonde was not too interested in meeting the black fox - he had never been in a situation when he had to summon the boss in battle.

"Of course." He replied, "Matters not. Thank you, Sajin." He acknowledged him before looking back to his research.

"No problem." The fox was about to leave until he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh wait! I forgot, apparently, your village is preparing for war." Sajin said, his eyes serious. "I overheard some Jounin talking about it by the gates. They were quiet...but well, I'm a sneaky fox."

Naruto had no reaction to the news. His eyes were still down on the papers scattered on his desk - his face without a single hint of worry or surprise.

Sajin sweat-dropped, "...No reaction?"

"The Hokage and that old fool, Danzo will handle such affairs. When I am called upon, I will do my duty as commanded by my superior officer. I'm guessing that I'm not supposed to know since I've yet to be informed - it doesn't matter right now. War time updates are usually regulated by Jounin...so, whatever." The blonde muttered, his eyes scanning the newly brought information. "Interesting..." He muttered as he continued to unfurl the scroll.

"...Whatever floats your boat, Naruto-sama." And with a pop, the fox disappeared, leaving the blonde to his study.

As soon as the fox left though, the young blond doctor let out a loud sigh and placed both of his palms to his forehead - feeling terrible a headache coming in as he took in the latest information. _"War. I guess it was only a matter of time...eh, Na?"_

* * *

(Elsewhere in Konoha)

Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Inuzuka Kiba were currently waiting for their ever late sensei, annoyed by their teacher's tardiness issues. Just as Kiba looked like he was going to erupt into a temper, a poof of smoke appeared from behind him.

"YOU'RE LATE AGAIN DAMN IT!" Kiba and Sakura yelled, "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?"

"Here." Was all he said, gently placing three pieces of paper into their hands. Sasuke quirked a brow as he read the title of the paper.

"Chuunin entrance exam?" He uttered, "Nice."

"Awesome!" Kiba exclaimed along with Sakura, their former sour mood completely erased.

"You guys are good enough to get in and I think you have a decent chance if you stuck together like I taught you." They all nodded, "Good luck and be careful, all of you. Take the next few days to train...the exams will begin soon. I have things to attend to for the next few days so if you need a trainer, stop by the academy for tips. Never forget, the teachers there will always help."

(x)

Kurenai watched as her genin train with a watchful eye, she was careful to examine every bit of their talents carefully. She didn't have to enter them into the exams but she had a gut feeling - a weird feeling inside of her told her abandon those doubtful thoughts of failure. The Kunoichi was usually a more level headed woman, often going by the book when in came to running a team and being in one.

But as she watched her genin, she felt that there was something special about them. They had an air about them that spoke clutch, and it was this gut feeling that kept telling her to enter them into the exams - that entering them will do her team good despite the high risks.

She was torn with the decision. Throughout her entire career, she had taught herself to not do things on an impulse, to not run off into a situation recklessly and look at her now, she was one of the youngest Jounin in the village and a master at her craft.

But when she looked at her friend, Rin, she thought otherwise. She went through her life with a different type of air of confidence, one of risks and gambles. She often challenged authority in order to better her village from the inside. She did not go by the book one hundred percent of the time - and often took risks in order to gain status.

Kurenai admired the woman above all others, even Tsunade of the Sannin.

And it was in that moment of revelation did she make her decision - no doubt in her mind, she would always remember the feelings she had today for years to come. The scare of the gamble she was about to take, it was a bittersweet feeling.

"Team!" She commanded, "Up front."

The three lined up before her orderly. She eyed the first one, Aburame Shino. He was fairly tall for his age, standing at five foot clean. The boy wore a huge collared coat that covered his face and shades - like the typical Aburame.

Next to him was a girl who was shorter, standing at four foot five, she wore a light red shirt with a protective chain built in and black pants. Kurama Yakumo had long brown hair and light brown hair. Like the Aburame, her face was completely apathetic and clean of emotion. Kurenai mentally sighed, the girl had come a long way from when they first met. All those years ago, when Yakumo was still a young child and her parents had been killed, she had a weak body and nearly fell to a terrible depression. Kurenai nearly accepted to train her as a child, had it not been cancelled at the last moment by the Hokage. That was the last time Kurenai had seen her until the academy.

The Jounin didn't know what happened to her from then but when she was old enough to enter the academy, the girl seemed much better in terms of physique and overall health. She was now confident and determined despite being fairly anti-social, the girl did not have many friends. Kurenai had yet to ask her of what happened but figured she could wait until later when their relationship improved.

Hyuuga Hinata stood at four foot four inches, barely under the brunette beside her. She wore a modest sweater and black pants. Unlike many of her clan, she was rather shy and hesitant to show her immense talent. Kurenai knew she had talent, it would be foolish for anyone to miss it. The Jounin didn't know why she was so shy but was determined to help her with that issue.

"I have an announcement to make. I will be entering you for the Chuunin Exams."

The reactions did not vary much. Yakumo and Shino barely made a sound whilst Hinata widened her eyes, fear glinting in them.

"...Now, I have a strict training program that will prepare you for this. I expect nothing less than your absolute best."

"Hai!"

(x)

Sarutobi Asuma looked at the three genin before him and sighed, _"What did I drink last night?" _He kept thinking to himself as he watched Ino launch into a one sided shouting match at her lazy teammates.

"Guys! Come on, we have to get this done! I don't want to lose to forehead!" She yelled out, only eliciting a 'troublesome' from Shikamaru and a nod from Chouji.

Nara Shikamaru had his hair tied in a sort of ponytail, shaped like an odd pineapple if Asuma was honest enough. He wore black pants and a simple zip up coat over a chain shirt. Sometimes, Asuma could not believe the kid had actually passed the academy with his extreme lack of motivation.

Akimichi Chouji was like him but more responsive to direct orders. He wore a scarf and the standard shinobi clothing - on his face were marks that most of his clan had. A war paint like look was what they called it - suiting for front line fighters like them, Asuma supposed.

Yamanaka Ino was a young blond girl who wore a purple top and bandages around her stomach, to guard her stomach and skin from damage was the only guess Asuma could make out for their purposes.

"Genin!" He spoke aloud, "Come here..."

_"I'm really doing this. This is really dangerous...but I keep thinking, they can do this. They are good...maybe if I put them in a serious situation, they'll 'flip the switch' like I see them do so often on tough C-rank missions. Yeah...I hope so." _

"I'm putting you guys in the upcoming chuunin exams."

Shikamaru sighed loudly, "Troublesome..."

Ino did not even bother to scold him, "...We've only been genin for what, six months? Why, Asuma-sensei? Not that I'm ungrateful...of course."

Chouji just kept munching on chips.

Asuma replied, "I believe you guys can do this. Besides, your classmates will be in as well."

_"Checkmate."_ Asuma thought smugly, and with the face Shikamaru had just made, he agreed. Ino had began ranting on about not falling behind her rivals and colleagues.

It made Asuma wonder, how could such a competitive girl be so...unmotivated? Maybe he really was a bad teacher - perhaps he'd ask his father advice later. It was essential.

* * *

(Hospital - Next day)

Naruto walked down the hallways with a small smirk on his face whilst carrying several pieces of papers in a manila looking folder. He had a sort of spring in his step as he found his way walking towards the room of his newest patient. At first, he found her quite an odd girl who had seemingly lost her memories - something that was not too uncommon unfortunately. She had several talents and he wondered where she had came from, in terms of place of birth.

It took the doctor a day or so but his research had come through. _"So...the Uzumaki are alive. There is one under my care." _He had an excited feeling about the coming days, despite the bad news he had received earlier.

He should have known that the girl was an Uzumaki, after all, they were famous for their red hair. But the blonde wanted to be completely sure and research other factors that contributed to her arm.

_"Why only her arms though? According to these files, she should have the ability to channel and transfer purified chakra. Does she lack the knowledge to do so? There have been a few reports stating that having intimate contact, like biting, would extract the chakra as well but it is so uncommon, not to mention those wounds should be able to heal regularly. Why not her?"_

He had come up with a hypothesis and was now walking to her room to test it out. Finally arriving, he opened the doors and was shocked to see that she was not alone.

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto said clearly, back straight as he looked up to the other person.

The person was a teen boy who didn't look too much older then him to be honest. He had silver hair, wore round glasses and the standard trainee medic gear. Naruto sneered, "Genin. Out! My patient must be attended to."

"Naruto-senpai." He said, "My apologies. I merely wished to examine the patient. By the way, my name is-"

"I don't give a damn what your name is. Out. I especially asked for this case." He lied smoothly, "And also, I am your superior in this hospital. Only nurses that I have cleared can check up on her, is that understood?"

"O-of course, sir." The glasses wearing guy nodded shakily, "Sorry sir." Naruto only glared and waited for him to leave the room.

As he did so, Naruto sighed in annoyance and looked back to the girl. The blonde took one look at her and mentally frowned, _"She seems...different. What has changed since yesterday?" _

"Did he do anything to you?" He asked curtly, receiving only a shake of the head from the red headed girl. Naruto was now wary, _"She didn't verbally express that denial. She was rather talkative the other day..." _

Naruto then began to the standard diagnostic techniques on her, scanning her body with the green hand of his medical technique. _"She hasn't changed physically...so, what's this sense of danger I keep feeling?" _

The blonde didn't know how to think so he pulled up a chair and began his routine. "I have been doing various research on your...special ability. Tell me, you really have no idea of the family or clan you came from?"

"No sir." She felt uncomfortable saying that to a fourteen, almost fifteen year old doctor. It was an odd sight but everyone around here seemed to take it in stride. "My earliest memories were of being raised in a village known as Kusagakure, the Hidden Grass village. I am a shinobi of there...and got lost when my team was ambushed by a bunch of missing ninja. I had to flee." She said in a rehearsed tone and the blonde caught it immediately. "I don't know how I ended up here."

_"She had no idea what happened to her the other day...could she have regained her memories? Sounded like a half lie, half truth wording to me..." _Naruto thought calmly, _"I can hear her heart beating quickly - like she wants to get away with something. Perhaps I should bring Ibiki in here...no...I cannot be too sure, I need to know what's wrong with her abilities. This is too interesting...and it could help my personal research."_

"Um...sir, can I go?"

Naruto was dumbfounded by the question. "What? What do you mean?"

"I'm feeling better now and I can move properly. So...there is no need for me to be here." She said timidly.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, anger making it's way in. "You are injured, I cannot allow a patient of mine to leave in your condition. Give me a few days and I can figure this all out."

"But...that's not your decision. I'm fine! Really." Naruto looked like he wanted to explode with anger, scaring his patient with the glint in his eyes.

"I won't let you leave." He said in a deathly calm voice, "You are not healed."_  
_

"Like I said! I'm fine. I can walk, run-"

"Quiet. I know you're here for the chuunin exams so I mind as well heal your injuries. Will your teammates be coming soon?" He asked, "If so, I'll have someone send a missive to your village, confirming your safety." She nodded but hesitantly.

"I-I guess." Naruto then smiled.

"...Excellent. Now then, let's get some work done."

The blonde was not aware of the presence outside his door however. The boy with round glasses from before stood silently and listened in with his enhanced genetically improved hearing. His control was good enough to hide it from the young, talented blond doctor inside the room.

_"So that is the medical prodigy, Uzumaki Naruto."_ The teenage looking medic thought, a smirk suddenly coming to his face.

_"Orochimaru-sama will be very interested in this one." _

And with that, he walked away with no one the wiser. Yakushi Kabuto did not make a single sound as he went to go meet up with his leader in secret.

* * *

_**END**_

_Thank you for reading. So now...I would like to take the time to present to you something everyone enjoys! Statistics. _

_This is based off the "Ninja Handbook" that Kishimoto used to do for his characters, rating their specific abilities out of five. Search up the Naruto wikia page and you'll get the idea. _

_So here's Naruto!_

**Uzumaki Naruto (Ninja Statistics) - (Out of Five)**

**Age : 14 **

**Taijutsu - 4**

**Ninjutsu - 5  
**

**Genjutsu - 2**

**Intelligence - 5**

**Stength - 3**

**Speed - 3**

**Stamina - 5**

**Handseals - 3**

**Total = 30**


	7. The First Strike

_**A/N - I KNOW, I'm actually writing an author's note. I just wanted to let you all know that I revamped Naruto's initial stats. I realized that I overpowered the crap out of him...to the point where he can take on Akatsuki members right now. I changed that because for this story, he is not supposed to be able to beat an Akatsuki member straight up one on one - no way in hell, not yet. Also, I want to let you all know that stats don't mean everything, they are only general estimates of power and skill.**_

_**Anyways, sorry about that. Enjoy this chapter!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 6**_

_**"The First Strike"**_

"...Do you understand your mission? Failure will not be acceptable." A man shrouded in darkness spoke calmly, his back turned from another figure who was kneeling in complete submission. He was sitting, his chair turned away to face the window, and was seemingly gazing upon the night. There were no stars in the night, only complete darkness and it saddened him - his view was not pleasant.

The kneeling figure responded curtly, "Hai."

* * *

_(Konoha) - (Flashback)_

_Time: 0200_

_A lone boy watched the red colored light on the wall of the Emergency Room in solemn silence, his eyes filled with anxiety and anticipation among other things that he felt in his body. He did not like the feeling of being forced to sit outside, useless and powerless to help them on the inside. For the past several hours, there were many things going through his mind, many scenarios he had replayed over and over again until his head started to burst in frustration. _

_"Are you alright?" A voice spoke up next to him. The boy cursed mentally, he couldn't believe he had allowed someone to sneak up on him while lost in the fury of his thoughts. "That was a dumb question, I'm sorry."_

_"What do you want, Kakashi?" The boy's voice was broken, he could barely look up to the silver haired man beside him. "Don't you have missing ninja to hunt down or something? Maybe even a mission to go help a rebellion overthrow a dictator? Or hell, don't you ANBU operatives participate in the honorable job of protecting our Hokage? Why are you here?"_

_"Hardly as important as coming here to check up on you." The tall Jounin was then silent for a moment after the opening comment, as if contemplating what he was going to say after that. "It's difficult, I understand." _

_The blonde did not answer - his gaze was still piercing the door to surgery._

_"Naruto." Kakashi spoke, his voice laced with sadness and grief for his friend - and in a way, his little brother. The boy had been the son of his sensei after all, the two had been close through out his entire life. Ever since Naruto could walk and talk, Kakashi was always there as a brother and a friend - always supporting him. _

_Kakashi could see the grief in his eyes - in his heart. "It's alright." He tried to reassure him. _

_"Alright?" Naruto responded quietly but the Jounin could hear the pain it held, the grief he was currently surpressing. "Standing outside...powerless to help - that may be alright with you but it's definitely not alright with me."_

_(Flashback End)_

* * *

(Hospital) - (2200)

There was a modest knock on the door.

Naruto opened a single eye and realized he had been a sleep for the first time today since yesterday - something he'd been doing often for multiple reasons. Sighing, he looked up to the clock in his office to check the time of day. It was already evening, the sun had long fallen and the night had risen along with the village lights.

"Who is it?" He said tiredly, "Read the sign on the door - I don't take appointments after nine. Go away."

"Well since you don't have any appointments right now." A female voice said with an amused tone, causing the resident blonde to sigh and roll his eyes. The door opened and he was once again face to face with his master and friend, Rin.

"Rin-sensei. Don't you usually go home at this time of day?" Naruto asked calmly. "It's unusual that you are up at this time."

Rin observed her student openly. The boy looked tired beyond reason, his white coat off and on the side of his desk and chuunin vest undone - he also seemed to be sweating fairly bad. "How funny coming from you, Mr. I-work-from-nine-to-five." She replied cheekily, "Warm in here?"

Naruto nodded, a slight scowl in his face. "Humid. I hate it...reminds me of Kiri and Uzu."

"You always hated humid nights when you were a kid. Need help sleeping?"

The blonde quirked a single brow, "Are you suggesting I take sleeping pills?" He asked.

The girl then chuckled, "No but I can hook you up with one of my girlfriends, she's pretty cute - if you catch my drift." Naruto sweat-dropped and had no reply. What was up with his friends and sexual innuendos?

"Oh, I was just teasing." Rin then settled for a more serious topic, "How's the case?"

Reaching to the side of his desk, Naruto pulled out a single folder and offered it to his boss. "From what I've discovered in these recent days, I believe she has genetic modifications done to her body - probably internally. This is the reason why our standard healing routine has had little effect on her when she was first checked in here. The standard ER medics aren't well versed in identifying these types of abnormalities. There is something...some kind of leech inside of her that is living off of her chakra. I'm scheduling a surgery tomorrow to see if we can find it." He finished with a yawn.

Rin scanned the folder, "It could be a seal." She suggested.

The blonde shrugged, "It could be - I'm no seals master and I've no desire to learn the art anytime soon."

"Jiraiya-sama is coming soon. You might need a consult - perhaps it is best to wait for him to arrive."

Naruto scoffed, "As if he would take time off of his busy schedule to come by the hospital and actually help others."

Rin only sighed and shook her head, "He's your Godfather you know. Jiraiya-sama may be busy often but he does drop by when he can."

"Whatever. The man can do as he wishes." Naruto stood up from his desk slowly and carefully stretched out his muscles. "Anyways, is there anything else you need? I think I've been away from home long enough."

"Two more things." She said. "I was wondering if you were interested in training a genin named Kurama Yakumo."

The doctor only looked at her with a deadpan expression. "I don't know whether to feel amused or insulted. Amused that you would even bother me with this...and insulted that you wouldn't already know the answer to the question. It's like you don't know me at all." He explained with a slight scowl, "I guess I can settle for both."

"I don't ask much of you Naruto." Rin replied, "But please, think on it? Kurenai, who is her sensei at the moment, doesn't know how to deal with her...wait, are you aware of the Kurama clan's curse?"

The blonde nodded, "Yes. Once in every generation, a child with terrible power will be born and with it, comes an entity of evil. Some bullshit along those lines right? Now that I think about it, I do have some advice."

She perked up at that.

"Tell her sensei to grow a brain. The best way to defeat an enemy is to confront it."

She gave him an exasperated look, "The Ido is a very dangerous demon Naruto. She cannot just confront it like any regular enemy! It may overtake her and do who knows what to her psyche - the risks are just too much."

"No risk, no reward." Naruto chuckled, "One does not simply dodge their inner beasts."

Rin only shook her head. "Just think about it. Anyways, I have to get going now. Be sure to get home tonight, you've been working pretty hard this past week...well, I guess this is acceptable. You usually do very minimal work. I guess this change of pace is good for you. This is the best case diagnostics has gotten in a while." And with that, she turned and left.

Naruto rose a brow, "What's with people accusing me of being lazy? I work from nine to five just like everybody else."

It was only mere minutes after did he finally leave his office to go home.

(x)

(Hospital - Roof)

A single silver haired figure sat, seemingly alone upon the highest point of the Hospital's rooftop - the moon's ray of light illuminating the part of the place where he did not appear in. He was silent and calm like the several ANBU who were hidden throughout the village - the man looked to no particular direction as he gazed at his village. Sometimes, he would turn around to face the stone carving of the Hokages, specifically the fourth head, the man who was his master and mentor.

"A ryo for your thoughts?"

Kakashi turned around, facing one his few long time best friends who stood perfectly balanced on a pole. He smiled and talked, "Rin-chan, what brings you here this beautiful evening?" The brunette rolled her eyes.

"I should be asking you that. This is my hospital after all, I work here. What about you?"

Kakashi shrugged, "Nothing much. It's a nice night."

"Naruto would disagree." She said in an amused tone, "He hates the humidity."

"He hates a lot of things." Kakashi quipped with his own roll of the eyes, "Humidity shouldn't take it too personally. Personally, I love it - it reminds me of when I went to Sea Country."

"Sea Country? A vacation?" She asked carefully. Rin never recalled her friend having ever going to that place on his off time, in fact, she never recalled Kakashi going anywhere if he did some how get any off time. Being a shinobi was a difficult occupation after all, they worked long and sometimes, even random hours depending on the missions they accepted.

"No, it was a classified S-rank assassination mission. But still, I liked the weather."

"...Right." She deadpanned. "Of course."

"Good times. So, how are the preparations going? Hokage-sama has been asking for daily updates of anything suspicious and well, most bad things happen at night anyways."

"I'm having the majority of the staff secretly prepare tunnels leading to the 'safezone'. So when the battle comes, they can be evacuated almost immediately." She replied, "It's gonna be a tough battle. Never thought I'd live to see the day this village is directly attacked by another nation."

"Me neither." Kakashi said, "It's unfortunate but life just sucks I guess."

She mentally agreed and sighed. For several moments from then, they just stayed in companionable silence and stared off into the village, taking in it's whole with their single gaze. It was not an uncomfortable silence, the feeling of nostalgia fitting more then any other if Kakashi had thought about it.

"Just like old times, huh? The three of us just standing around and doing nothing." Rin said with a sad smile.

Kakashi just chuckled, "Yeah...waiting for the fourth member." His voice had a leak up unveiled grief.

She turned around slightly to gaze upon the stone face of her late master and friend, "I never liked the way they carved his face. He looks too serious...Minato-sensei was always more laid back and gentle. They made him look like a sort of intimidating figure on this wall."

"That's kind of the point you know. To the foreign nations, sensei was revered as one of the greatest shinobi to ever grace the land. In Iwa, they called him a demon." Kakashi replied.

"True...they may have called him that over there...but here, he was just a man - a leader, a hero, a teacher, a husband...and a father." She trailed off with a sigh, "A good man."

"That's the world we live in. Unlucky and cruel." Kakashi replied bitterly, "If I had it my way, this eye..." He touched the headband that covered his famous Sharingan, "...would be where it belonged."

Rin just looked at him with a saddened visage. "Ka-"

**! - ! - ! - !**

Seemingly out of the no where, an explosion rocked the side of the village. The reaction was massive, a terrible tremor could be felt all the way from their location. Widening their eyes, the two shinobi immediately leapt off the high roof and landed smoothly on another building. They then began roof hopping towards the explosion.

"What the was that?" Rin exclaimed loudly, "Are they attacking already?"

"No...it can't be. Jiraiya-sama was sure the first strike would happen during the exams...which is whole a week from now." Kakashi said, "Wait...that's coming from Naruto's house!"

Shocked, Rin began to speed up. "No...who would...unless they know his...?" She asked herself silently, "No...that's impossible. The secret has been kept for years! Now of all times?"

Catching on to her thought process, Kakashi disagreed. "We're dealing with Orochimaru here. He knows the secret...and certainly, he'll do anything for an edge. He's the only one who could let out the leak."

"Damn." She muttered angrily, speeding up to the direction of her student's house. "Damn that snake!"

* * *

(Moments earlier - Naruto's residence)

Naruto slowly walked down the empty street, tired from his continuous tenure of work in the hospital office. He tiredly approached his home with more than a few yawns. It was a rather modest one layer building that had no special design or color, just a simple veil of white and a blue roof - all of this complete with a simple yard and miniature garden on the outside of it. Overall, it was just like any other house.

As the blonde gripped the door'a handle, he seemed to pause for a split second before opening the door. The inside of his house, like the outside, was very much clean cut. The walls and floor were made of a rich, light brown wood. It was stainless and smooth, the floor had no sharp breaks or cracks at all.

The living room however had a plethora of different things. On the side, next to a window, was a large piano with a pot of sake on it's top, looking rather untouched. He also had four couches and a single, large coffee table on the other side of the room.

Naruto walked to the kitchen and opened one of many cabinets - only to narrow his eyes as he looked at the arrangement. "Can't believe I ran out of beef ramen..." He muttered to himself, an irritated tone in his voice "Need to pick up some...getting tired of chicken every night."

The blonde sighed and took out a bowl, milk and settled for cereal...at night.

As this was happening, an invisible and silent figure approached him from behind - only given up by a small shadow that he created. Sneaking up behind the blonde, the figure drew a dagger and struck at the doctor without mercy in his stroke.

This was all in vain as the target disappeared. The figure widened his eyes and jumped back - only to hear a mocking laughter far to his side.

"Next time, leave the ramen alone." Naruto laughed, "I can only guess what you've been doing around my house. But really, how dare you touch my supply of ramen, I ordered it all the way from Sea Country. Do you have any idea how expensive those are? My entire stock probably has more value than your house."

"Die!" The assassin roared in anger, "Doton: Iwa no Kougeki (Rock Attack)!" Punch his arms in the direction of the blonde, he launched several sharpened rocks to strike at him, also coming from the ground. Naruto grinned and dodged the attack smoothly and zig zagged right into the opponent's inner space. The blonde punched him hard in the ribs but widened his eyes as the assassin didn't seemed effected in the least bit. The man responded with a sharp kick and although the blonde Konoha chuunin managed to block the hit, it launched him back and through his kitchen wall, into his living room.

"What kind of armor was that? It was like punching a rock..." Naruto uttered, quickly regaining his balance. "Ah man, my wall is gone."

"Doton: Nameogusoku (Armor of Earth)." The assassin said aloud, revealing the rock hard armor covering the majority of his body, except his face. "You should be more tight lipped on your abilities, Uzumaki Naruto. Of course, it is no surprise. A child like you is often prone to boasting their weaknesses." He sneered at the doctor.

"Heh, I only do that so people would leave me alone. A good show of intimidation is good to strike doubt into the enemy..." Naruto responded, "Of course, the consequences can be dealt with. If I know that you know my specialty, then I can counter effectively...in other words, you are the fool for letting me know that you know my techniques. Not that I need anything new - you have several openings I can take advantage of." He smiled, "Knowledge is important but it matters little when I outclass you in every single aspect as a shinobi."

The assassin twitched in annoyance, "Damn you, bastard!" He held his dagger and began swiping at him. Although he was not wild, the man was not completely refined in his art.

Dodging the attacks with a smile, Naruto moved with a grace that was unlike his current opponent who was bold and rough. Seeing a wide swing, Naruto ducked the attack and landed a electrically charged uppercut to the assassin. Taking advantage of the man's temporary paralysis, Naruto pulled back his left arm and gathered chakra into his palms.

"Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere)!" A swirling ball of pure chakra formed in his hands.

He landed the ball of condensed chakra into the opponent's stomach, piercing, shredding through the armor of earth with absolute ease. The attack launched him back into the wall, knocking him out cold. The assassin began spitting blood violently from his mouth.

"Just because you know how to minimize my attacks...doesn't mean I can't hit from an angle. You must be one of those weaker assassins that nobody cares about." He mocked lightly.

And that was when it hit him. "Wait...maybe you really are someone nobody cares about. Shit!" He ran to the knocked out shinobi and on his way, his peripheral vision caught sight of an ill-placed explosive note.

_"Oh shit."_

And it was a few seconds later did his house explode into fire.

* * *

(Outside)

"NARUTO!" Rin exclaimed, landing at the spot of the explosion. "Naruto! Where are you?"

Kakashi closed his eyes, "I smell his scent everywhere...but where is he though?" He muttered, watching as several shinobi landed in the area - all of them looking wary. Though he did catch sight of several amusing things, one such as Asuma's pajama's and Kurenai who landed right next to him, both looking severely annoyed and cautious.

"What the hell is going on here!" A loud female voice yelled. Kakashi recognized said person to be one Mitarashi Anko, the former student of the legendary shinobi, Orochimaru. Like many of the other shinobi in the area, she had the aura of caution and annoyance.

"I felt it all the way from home. What happened here?" Another Jounin, Raido, spoke. He wore shades at night for some odd reason and a simple shirt and pants.

"Isn't this Naruto's place? Wonder if he's alright..." Genma spoke up.

"Where's the enemy?" A chuunin exclaimed, "Who's attacking!"

Rin, ignoring all of the newcomers, rushed right into the house and began moving the damage around. The amount of dust was large and it was truly hard to see into the building. "...Where are you?" She muttered, "I know you're not dead."

As if hearing her, from the yard - a single hand popped out of the ground followed by a body - alerting every shinobi in the area. He was completely covered in dirt and earth, his blonde hair now roughed up with minerals from being underground. Kakashi sighed in relief as he saw the young teen arise from the ground, "Naruto, what happened here? Are you alright?"

"Alright?" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes burning with unadulterated rage. In his arms, he held the unconscious assassin by the neck. "SOMEONE BLEW UP MY HOUSE GOD DAMN IT! MY PIANO, MY RAMEN, MY FILES, MY HOME AND ALL OF MY EQUIPMENT! ALL GONE!"

"Glad to see that you care about yourself." Rin said, hugging him from behind. "I was worried for a moment there. Thank goodness you're safe." She uttered softly. Naruto sighed and threw the assassin on to the ground.

"An assassin was here waiting for me. Bastard rigged my house with explosives as a last resort in seems." A few of the shinobi gasped. He looked towards Anko and eyed the downed figure. "I believe this is your job?"

Like him, she was annoyed. "I'll take of him...Damn explosion ruined my night!" She angrily gripped the figure by his hair, "Oh...Ibiki and I will tear this guy a new asshole for pulling this shit!" She then disappeared in a shunshin.

Naruto sighed. "What the hell was that all about?" He asked himself, "That was annoying...he probably poisoned my ramen too...that bastard."

Kakashi just chuckled, "I'm just glad that you're OK. Come on, you can stay at my place." He looked to Asuma. "Oi! Can you let your dad know to send a clean up crew here?"

The Jounin nodded, "I will..." He drawled, "After I get some damn clothes on..."

"...Are those...monkeys?" Kurenai asked, looking at said man's pajamas and grinned. Asuma blushed and coughed.

"...I'm going."

Everyone watched, amused, as Asuma quickly left to avoid anymore embarassment.

* * *

(T & I)

The Hokage looked at the assassin with a glare, anger coursed through his veins as he thought of this man's actions. Of course, it was natural that he felt anger to anyone that attacked his village.

"Who is he, Ibiki?" The Third asked, "What is his motive?"

"He can't speak." The scarred Jounin replied, "When Naruto captured him, all he had was standard shinobi equipment - no ID, no headband...we have no idea who he is. The moment he woke up, the fool tried to bite his tongue - he probably figures it's over and tried to commit suicide. Thankfully, we had a medic on standby for these cases. A Yamanaka will be coming soon to acquire his mission through mental invasion."

The elder man nodded, "Good. Don't let him die until you find his reason for visit."

And with that, the old man walked off.

_"...Who is this man? Could it be...?"_

* * *

(?)

"Report!"

A shaky figure kneeled before his boss, "H-hai. The mission was a failure...Uzumaki Naruto still lives. Toma-san has been captured."

Silence. That was a sound that the kneeling figure certainly did not like to hear as he did not know what to expect from his superior. Punishment was easier to determine from a rant but silence meant anything and that was what struck fear into him. Iwa shinobi were usually very strict on failures and his boss did not like to hear it. It projected a visage of weakness, something the man loathed more then anything in the world.

"...I see." Was all the mystery figure said, "Tell me, why did you return then?"

"Jounin were flying in from everywhere sir! I had no chan-" Was the last thing he said before a giant cube fell on him, knocking him out.

"How dare you." The figure stepped out with a dangerous snarl on his face. At first glance, the man did not seem intimidating at all. That was until they would figure out that his short stature meant absolutely nothing when it came to battles - not to mention he was flying as if nothing seemed more natural to him.

"You abandoned your teammate after failing the mission as well? How dare you return a failure and a coward." He signaled the ANBU inside his office to take the downed man away, "Get this coward to the hospital. Wash his memories of anything shinobi as soon as his wounds are done closing - he doesn't deserve to be a shinobi in my forces."

"Hai, Tsuchikage-sama!"

The short man walked back to his desk, his once neutral mood now foul.

_"Uzumaki Naruto...no, Namikaze Naruto. Your father's sins will be the end of you." _Iwa had been running low on funds ever since they lost the war all those years ago, his village had suffered in production. They had garnered a terrible reputation from then on and his village, his people were suffering for it. At the moment, only Kumo could match Konoha in power. Kiri had the potential to do so as well but they were still in the midst of civil war. Suna was a joke as far as the short man was concerned - they were only difficult to defeat on their own turf from what he remembered back during the war.

_"I guess I have no choice." _The old man thought, _"Orochimaru...I'll take his offer...and then I'll kill him myself."_

* * *

_**END**_

_Thanks for reading. Fairly short chapter._

**Rin (Ninja Statistics) - (Out of Five)**

**Taijutsu - 3**

**Ninjutsu - 4.5**

**Genjutsu - 5**

**Intelligence - 5**

**Strength - 2**

**Speed - 5**

**Stamina - 2**

**Handseals - 5**

**Total = 31.5**


	8. Jinchuuriki and their Problems

_**Chapter 7**_

_**"Jinchuuriki and their Problems"**_

Naruto sat gloomily inside the Hokage's office, facing the head man himself with a look that screamed frustration and annoyance. The old man couldn't exactly blame him for his mood, after all, he had been on the wrong side of an assassination for the first time in his memory - something that no sane person would particularly enjoy. Assassination attempts on high profile shinobi were definitely nothing new to the Hokage but to the blond doctor, it was different. He was still a rather young man and had lived in a relatively peaceful era - a complete contrast to the life Hiruzen lived.

"I understand that you're angry." Hiruzen said, rubbing his temples, "But we need to discuss your security."

Naruto scoffed, "No offense, Hokage-sama - but I don't require any security, seeing as how the assassin managed to get past the ANBU stationed in my neighborhood so easily! What I require is compensation for my home and damaged goods. I had years...years of research and files in that house. It will take months to get all of it back...if ever."

"I see..." Was the old man's reply, "Unfortunately, that will have to wait a bit - the village budget is still under review and it will take some time to calculate how much we can send to you."

"...Damn." Naruto muttered, "I lost all of my stuff. Oh...my poor piano."

"I'm really sorry Naruto-kun. But on the bright side, you're still rich." He deadpanned. Naruto shrugged, "Now seriously, we need to talk about your security. It seems someone is after you."

The blonde just waved it off, "Probably some asshole who wanted my bounty, no big deal."

"...Naruto-kun, you don't have a bounty. Those are only for missing ninja who betrayed their villages. If you're talking about the 'Underworld' bounty, I assure you - you don't have much." Hiruzen replied with a sweat-drop.

"What?" He narrowed his eyes, "I remember some guy saying he was going take my head back to Kumo or something."

The Hokage sighed and began rubbing his temples again, "I'm pretty sure they wanted to take your head back to Kumo so they could study your brain to see how it functions or something like that. Said person who said that he would take your head to Kumo is probably ignorant to the fact that the Third Raikage is dead and the Fourth is not the same power hungry individual. With you being a known prodigy, they probably also think you had an advanced mind. Also, you're an Uzumaki. Kumo has always been known to be interested in that clan for some reason. The Uzumaki were said to be descendents of the Sage of Six Paths."

Naruto did not respond for a whole second.

"Damn."

The Hokage rolled his eyes, "Getting back on topic...again." He glared at the blonde who grinned sheepishly, "We don't think that it was a random mercenary that attacked you."

"Did you crack the guy?" Naruto asked, "I sure hope you sicced Ibiki on his sorry ass. Bastard's gonna pay for blowing up my house."

"...Unfortunately, the Yamanaka clan has found nothing conclusive. His mind was seal rigged."

The blonde facepalmed when he heard that. When a mind was seal rigged, that meant his assassin was given a 'sink or swim' assignment. If the shinobi were to be captured, then he would die - or live life a vegetable due to the technique. Entering a rigged mind was a difficult task, if not straight up impossible. One mistake could cause the mind to completely melt and destroy any information in the shinobi's head.

It was not a pleasant sight.

"I see. So...then, what's on your mind? It must be serious if you had to get an entire platoon of ANBU to surround the place."

_"Seriously, why doesn't he apply for Jounin already? The skill is certainly there..." _The Hokage mentally accessed. The boy had more skill in his pinky then most shinobi did in their entire bodies - it was a terrifying thing to watch him do nothing with his potential sometimes.

"Indeed. I believe that you have been targeted by one of the five major villages, Iwagakure."

"Ridiculous!" Naruto replied, seemingly shocked, "I've done nothing to Iwa. They have no reason to go after..." He trailed off as his eyes caught a certain light. Following his brief moment of distraction, he came to face with the portrait of his father - even smiling, the fourth Hokage seemed radiate an image of intimidation. Naruto didn't know if it was because he knew of the history behind the man's legendary butchering of Iwa or if his father really was just that awesome.

"I...see." Naruto said, scratching his chin. "How many people could have told them?"

"Orochimaru knew for sure...and could have let out the leak." Was the reply, "...but let's face it, you look just like him." The Third Hokage said, eying the portrait momentarily. "They will not stop until you are dead - they will take your head and put it on a pike...to display in their village."

The blonde nodded, "I understand but I still don't need security. I can take of myself just fine, thank you."

"...Naruto-kun, I can spare an entire platoon of ANBU just for your protection detail! Don't be so foolish in this decision, please." The old man insisted, "One of the five great villages is after your head - just you!"

They were then silent for several moments, the Hokage's face was grim and desperate, the blonde's was calm and calculative. His cold eyes seemed to be searching for an answer, a way to calm his surrogate grandfather of sorts.

Sighing, Naruto began soothing his head with his fingers like he had a sudden ache, as he spoke, "If you insist on a security detail, then I want an entire platoon at the hospital from the time I work to the time I leave - they are not to interrupt me when I work. But I will not have them follow me everywhere in town - I can take care of myself." The old man seemed appeased, although he was not happy. "Besides, I'm staying at Kakashi's place. It's not like anything bad can happen there."

"...Very well." Was the tired answer, "I will get it done."

Naruto nodded, "Is there anything else?" The old man shook his head, "Well, I have to get back to work. By your leave."

"Dismissed."

* * *

(Elsewhere)

"So we have a deal...? Kukukukukehehehe." Sickening laughter rang in the small cave these two figures stood in, "Excellent. Now, it shall be one...on three."

"You managed to get Suna to cooperate?" An old, gruff voice replied, "I wonder how you got that to work out. That fool, Kinsou, is as stubborn as a mule when it comes to allying with others. I just wish I could see old Sarutobi's face when he finds out that Suna has betrayed his precious village."

Ryotenbin no Onoki stood, his was back crooked and stiff, as he faced the much taller man. Said man had waist length dark hair and malicious, slitted yellow eyes - his skin was pale, whiter then the paper people used day by day. His attired consisted of grey garbs and black pants with a purple bow like belt tied on his waist backwards.

Orochimaru of the Sannin smiled, his visage deceptively kind and friendly. "When my plans come to fruition, you will be there to see it, I assure you."

"I look forward to seeing what you have in mind. I'm also impressed that you managed to gather your own army so quickly - it's been what, almost twelve years since your defection from Konoha? How did you gain power so quickly?" Onoki asked, "Of course, the more important question is, do you have quality shinobi under your command? I'd be rather annoyed if you gathered an army full of chumps."

"Kukuku...don't worry about my shinobi, Onoki - I have assembled a fine army!" The Sannin smirked, "I will be bringing two of my very best Generals to battle, along with four of my other elite shinobi."

"That's it? You speak as if you have other powerful shinobi! If you are holding out on your full power, then why should I help you?"

"I'm not a big enough fool to bring out one hundred percent of my forces into one strike. Chances are - Konoha will repel our initial attack and then we will be forced to flee." The elder shinobi raised a brow.

"Then why would you attack if you are willing to admit such a thing? Do the lives of your men mean nothing to you?"

"Because..." The pale man smirked, "The ultimate goal of this plan is to assassinate the Hokage and to launch a powerful pre-emptive attack that will lower their morale in the long term. No doubt, Konoha will find a way to overcome our initial strike." He sighed, "This will not be a short war, Onoki. Despite the loss of the Uchiha Clan all those years ago, they are still the greatest of the five."

"If they could survive the Kyuubi's rampage all those years ago, then this will hardly be a challenge to overcome I suppose..." Onoki said, "But it will still be a wonderful chance to annihilate them once and for all."

"If everything goes perfectly, then yes, Konoha will be wiped from the face of this world." Orochimaru said, "But with their power, I doubt that our elites can match theirs...If Jiraiya appears, then we will have trouble. As much as I hate to admit it, my old friend is rather formidable these days."

"They also have other powerful shinobi as well." Said the Kage, "'Sharingan Kakashi' and 'The White Witch Rin' among them if I remember correctly."

_"Oh you old fool...you have no idea just how powerful they all are..."_ Orochimaru thought with a mental frown, _"We'll be in trouble if the old man manages to call in Tsunade, as if they didn't already have enough powerful medics."_

"Indeed." The pale man replied.

"Now then, I must ask - what are you going to do about Kumo?" The short man scratched his chin speculatively, "The Yondaime is not as big a warmonger as his father was, I believe. I've heard rumors that he actually wants to make peace with Konoha." The disgust was clear in his tone, "He must be as stupid as he looks."

"I'm unsure of how to approach him at the time being." Orochimaru admitted, "I was hoping he would stay neutral during the affair but it looks like we've no choice but to come up with a contingency plan for him."

"Any rough ideas?"

The Sannin frowned slightly but as if a light bulb lit up in his mind, it slowly curled up into a grin, "I have a few...but first, I must evaluate his resolve."

* * *

(Elsewhere)

"The exams start soon."

Naruto pretended not to care about her exam. "Quiet, you just got out of surgery...you shouldn't be speaking yet - don't waste energy."

Karin sighed and only shook her head as she laid back into her soft bed. The doctor had been working non stop on her arms to see if he could cure it, it resulted in her thinking he almost seemed obsessed with her. It's not that she wasn't touched by the gesture - in fact, she was awed by his dedication and passion for the art of medicine.

"Will I be good to go before tomorrow then?" Naruto sighed in exasperation, "It's important! It's not just about me you know - my teammates will be disqualified if I don't show up. We have to meet up tomorrow to discuss strategy and stuff."

Naruto scoffed, as if they had any idea what the exams were about anyways. "If they care more about passing a stupid chuunin exams more then your health, then they're trash." He replied conversationally, "True teammates should be like family - they take care of one another as if they were related by blood."

"I didn't think someone like you would be some compassionate...you know, they say that you are always so cold to others." She quipped, "Why do I see a different side?"

"Someone said that about me?" He scowled, "Was it Shin? Gah, I knew he didn't like me!" She giggled at his response, making him grin slightly himself.

"Anyways..." Karin carefully positioned her glasses, "Will I be ready for tomorrow?"

"You're so annoying..." He started to say, only to stop as she gave him a sharp look. "If I cannot figure it out by tomorrow morning, then we will discharge you..." He sighed softly, "I'll forward my notes and research to your doctor at Kusa when the time comes. If I had it my way, I would have you stay here for the duration of the exam until I can fix your arm. But according to foreign policy, I cannot force you to miss an exam unless it's an immediate life threatening injury."

She narrowed her eyes, "You wouldn't purposely give me a life threatening injury to force me to stay here, would you?" Naruto didn't answer for several long moments, his face seemed conflicted and amused at the same time. She widened her eyes and was about to exclaim something but was stopped when the blonde elicited a chuckle.

"I wouldn't do that." He replied, "...Too many skilled ANBU around here." She sweat-dropped at his seemingly honest response.

"Right."

They then sat in silence for several moments, until the doctor began talking again. "Go to sleep. I'll be back tonight to try more things and that'll be the last time you will have to see me if I cannot find out what's wrong with you. You'd better hope your doctor had Kusa is good...because this could be anything."

"Can you put me to sleep, sensei?" She asked, "I've been sleeping a lot lately, it's hard to do so on my own." The blonde rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He formed two handseals and then placed his palms on her forehead. "Neiru no Jutsu (Sleep Technique)."

Karin began to get drowsy and yawned, "Before you go...are you really my family? That's what people have been saying around here you know, something about you only being so obsessed with my case because you might have found a long lost relative. You're name is Uzumaki right?" He nodded, "So...am I?" She asked, her voice was softer then any time the doctor had remembered.

Naruto's face was calm, "You are definitely an Uzumaki...and yes, we are relatives." Was his only reply as she fell asleep. With that, he then stalked quietly out of the room and went on to continue his week long research.

* * *

(The Next Day)

In the end, Naruto failed to beat the time limit he was given by his superior. Karin had been let go the very next morning to go meet up with her team who insisted that she leave seeing as how she could perform actively. The blond doctor did not show up for the official discharge of the girl, much to her gloom.

Rin found herself walking up to her student's office with an office, a strange and intimidating apathetic look on her face. No nurse dared stand in her way as she marched swiftly and silently to his door - once she arrived, Rin immediately spoke with a tone of annoyance.

"You're an idiot." Naruto looked up and narrowed his eyes at her, tilting his head slightly back down. She completely ignored the game board he was currently sharing with a blue fox, something that was not entirely an odd sight to her. "Put the game away, we have to talk."

Sajin looked to his boss, "I think she's mad at you." He stage whispered comically, "What did you do?"

"I believe Naruto-sama has done nothing." Vulpone said with his usual insightful tone, "Which is most likely the problem. Let's go Sajin, I'm not in the mood to watch Naruto-sama get torn apart by the scary woman." And with that, the red fox disappeared in a wisp of smoke, followed by his partner who had been chuckling for a few seconds.

"What the hell sensei! I was winning for the first time in years." He exclaimed, "It's hard to beat a fox at Kitsune scramble!"

"Shut up. Why didn't you go to see her off?" She asked, scratching her head slightly, "This might be the last time you ever get to meet another Uzumaki."

Naruto scoffed, "Tch, I don't want to see the result of my failures sensei. I failed to cure her and I can't even chop her arm off secretly to force her to stay here!"

"Ignoring that last, repulsive sentence..." Rin sighed, "...I know that this case meant a lot to you. I knew that it would interest you, not just medically but emotionally. You didn't think that I would recognize her shade of red hair? Kushina-sama had the exact same color. I gave you this case so you could attach yourself with another member of your family, not to run away at the last moment!" Naruto growled slightly but said nothing, allowing his master to continue.

"This case was extraordinarily difficult and the time limit I gave you was unfair, I realize that! But this is about more then just her condition, she was your family for goodness sake - you didn't see the look on her face when you didn't even show up to say goodbye - Karin was hurt. I thought the poor girl was gonna cry her eyes out." She ranted on, "Do you know what she must feel like right now? Perhaps the only other member of her family didn't even...didn't even care enough to show up to say a small 'bye, nice to meet you' - no, you didn't even give her that respect!"

Naruto did not answer.

"Do you even care anymore, Naruto?" Rin asked, a hint of repressed sorrow in her voice. "When you were nine...I told you about your family...and how much I loved and respected them as if they were my own parents. When you were four, the time you disappeared from the orphanage and we couldn't find you - you have no idea just how terrified I was when the Hokage told me." Her voice cracked slightly, "I was part of the search team to find you along with 'Kashi. We spent months looking for any sign of you...Konoha is a huge village, you could have been anywhere."

She continued on, "And then you were found a couple years later. I was so relieved to hear it - I cried so much that day. I promised myself that I wouldn't let you go like that again. I told myself that I wouldn't let you down like that ever again...so when I told you stories of your family, I found myself wanting to find your family just as much as you did. I begged the Hokage and the Council to make you my apprentice so I could teach you everything I know. It was against protocol because you were supposed to become apart of another squad - but we worked it all out, everything went perfectly for a long time after that."

"But it all changed that night, didn't it?" She almost didn't realize that the moist in her eyes were rising quickly, Rin rubbed her eyes. "When Naomi was killed."

"Enough, don't speak that name." Naruto suddenly said, "I-"

"No. We have to talk about this! I've left you to your own devices for nearly three years now and you've changed for the worse I'm afraid. It was my mistake to think that you could handle the grief alone, when you insisted that we drop the topic. I should have forced you to talk about it all those years ago...after all, one does not simply dodge their inner beasts, right?"

"Quiet!" He snapped angrily, "How dare you turn my own words against me! I've had enough of this." He looked to stand up and leave but was stopped when he felt his body suddenly seize and stop. "You're using _this_ technique just to spew a stupid lecture!" He spat, "Let...me...go." Naruto growled, struggling to break out.

"I won't." She gritted out, filled with conviction, "Not until you tell me just what happened that night. I know you loved her as the sister you've always wanted, no, needed! Now just unload your grief!"

"No..."

"I can stay here all day." Rin said, "Not until you talk to me, student."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Fine. I think you're a damn psychopath who insists on creating techniques to stop bodily functions! Now, let go of me."

"You used to be so nice to me, you know." She replied cheekily, "Always so grateful for each lesson given, always so proactive with your training! Now look at you, a shadow of your former self. You may have become stronger over the years, something that happens naturally seeing as how you age, but you are far too inexperienced to break out of this technique, powerful medic or not - this technique has won me many battles."

"It is also the reason why you're still single." He quipped.

Ignoring him, she continued. "I also happen to know that you'd never break your one rule because that's the only way you'll be able to escape this."

"I'm considering it." Naruto admitted, "This is uncomfortable."

"Tough! Now then...talk."

Naruto didn't answer for a long time after that. After fifteen minutes, he just gave up his futile struggle, knowing the only way to break her technique was to use the Kyuubi's chakra. Rin just continued to give him gaze that he hated with all his heart, one of fierce compassion and affection. It reminded him of Naomi and how she would always give him those exact same eyes - the eyes that were now dead and buried beneath the earth. Rin couldn't understand why he hated those looks, and at the moment, he didn't think anyone could. After all, whenever he looked into the mirror to see himself, the blonde only saw and knew one thing.

Disgust.

"...I can't." He finally said, closing his eyes. "I...I just can't."

_"Wake up Kurama."_ The blonde mentally thought.

"Naruto..."

"Please...just leave. I can't say anything...I can't." He began to mutter, "You don't see it...you don't see what I see these days, sensei. I don't want their damn pity."

"That never bothered you before." Rin replied. "You told me you've long forgiven the village for their idiocy. We're talking about something else."

"I don't give a rat's ass about that shit!" The younger doctor gritted out, "You all see me as a young prodigy, the next great medic...who lost his closest friend to the rampage of Uchiha Itachi! They know nothing."

"Then tell me just what the hell your problem is." Was all she said, "Naruto..."

Before she could continue, the blonde opened his eyes and showed a stifling change in them. She widened her eyes slightly at the sight of his blood red eyes, "Y-you're actually usin-"

Forcing his hands out, as if he were encased by a very tight rope, Naruto easily broke out of his teacher's paralysis. Rin was too shocked to even respond, frozen by his casual use of the Kyuubi's chakra.

Naruto stood up and looked at her in the eye, in them was an emotion she could not identify - because all she could see was the facade of hatred and grief in his face. But the odd thing was, it was not for her.

**"Sorry." **Was all he said as he walked past her.

* * *

(Kumo)

"Raikage-sama! Raikage-sama!" A screeching voice exclaimed urgently. She bursted through his large doors, interrupting a meeting he had been having with two of his other shinobi.

"Again." A young, blonde woman spoke. "We are always interrupted by something. The last time, it was the Daimyo's pet alligator marching in on us."

Another man, sitting to the right of the Raikage, laughed very loudly. "Oh yeah, I remember that! Damn thing was so damn...faaat." He tried to make the ryhme work, only to be shot down a second later.

"Terrible as always, B. You should try enka." She quipped, "You suck at rapping, so perhaps it is best that you change the direction of your musical career!"

"You need to just stop hating...and stick to the mati-"

"Shut up B." The Raikage, A said as he began rubbing his temples, trying to sooth the uncoming headache. Looking to his secretary, he nodded. "What's the problem?"

"S-someone has arrived and he has demanded to speak to you!" She stuttered, "Our shinobi are acting quite...hostile."

The Raikage sighed, "If it's the Daimyo's wife, could you tell her that I'm not here right now..."

"It's not her sir! It's-" Before she could answer, the door behind her opened up once again. Walking in was a man that A only knew by name and face, followed by two other shinobi who radiated a powerful aura. To the man's right was a rather young, white haired teenager with vivid green eyes. He looked as pale as his master and wore white garbs and a purple like bow around his waist. To the man's left was a woman with violet hair tied in a spiked ponytail and fair skin - she wore red lipstick and had dark eyes. Like her master, she also wore a purple bow like belt around her waist along with green dress.

The Raikage's previous calm demeanor was forgotten and was now replaced by a serious one. The blonde woman next to him followed his example, her once serene mood now soured when she saw the man who walked in.

Killer B yawned.

"Hello, Raikage-san."

A did not answer for a while. He nodded to his secretary, "Get the hell out of here." She nodded quickly and left.

"I'm not in a good mood right now." The Raikage said, "Why don't you go die in a pit somewhere in the desert, Orochimaru of the Sannin?" The two bodyguards narrowed their eyes.

A smiled when he saw how easily both his bodyguards were angered by his small declaration.

"How crude..." The pale man replied with false hurt, "I just wanted to meet with you. That's all, really!"

"Then take a number and wait like every other shinobi who wants a shot at me! What the hell makes you think you're so special?"

Orochimaru chuckled, "It is urgent. I came here with a proposition." A narrowed his eyes, "This coming Chuunin Exams, I have conspired with other villages to finally destroy Konoha!"

After his declaration, the room was silent, until one of the men broke it.

"Hey man, I think this dude really is a frail as he looks...probably spent his teenage years ignoring girls and reading books..." B said, stroking his chin as if he had just said something wiser then anything else.

"How dare you!" One of Orochimaru's guards, the woman, exclaimed lightly, "I'll-"

"No, how dare you and your master come marching in declaring war on another village!" The blonde woman cut her off, "It's completely rude and unethical."

"Yugito..." A wanted to palm his face badly at the two eccentric jinchuuriki next to him, "That's not the point here."

"...Right, of course." She said, her face still apathetic.

Orochimaru had to fight back a sweat-drop, "Anyways...I wanted to offer you an alliance between our villages. With our combined might, we will be able to completely wipe Konoha from the face of this planet! Join us in our quest, Raika-"

"No."

The answer was so sudden and filled with so much conviction, that Orochimaru almost lost his initial composure. "...You're not even going to think about it? But think of the-"

"Shut up man or else I'll kick you can!" Killer B exclaimed, only to sigh a second after. "Man, even I knew that was bad...how sad."

Yugito scoffed, "We're not going to play your little games, Orochimaru-baka. If you want to attack Konoha, you'll have to deal with whatever we decide to do when it happens."

The Sannin's guard spat out a reply, "We came this far just to offer you a wonderful proposition to destroy your only rival in terms of power and you're turning us down so easily?"

"Enough...Guren." Orochimaru calmed her down, she nodded, almost looking depressed at being scolded. She had to ignore the annoying whipping motions Killer B was making at her. "I understand, Raikage-san. But...I believe you will have to deal with any consequences of the aftermath of this war."

A narrowed his eyes. "You seem to misunderstand something." He said.

Yugito then smirked, "You come here unannounced and you expect us to just let you go? Don't you realize who you're talking to? The sheer amount of money and infamy we'll receive for taking out Konoha's soon to be greatest traitor will be quite... beautiful."

"You should have had a better plan...pale, snake man." B also said. "Prepare to get an ass whooping of the ages...I'm gonna come at you like when a mad bull enrages!"

"We're leaving!" The Sannin immediately exclaimed, his eyes widening but was too late as the Raikage had already moved and punched a hole into his stomach, moving at lightning speeds no one caught. Yugito had a single dagger drawn and had lopped off the purple woman's head in an instant and Bee...turned the other guard's upper body into several pieces of flesh, having drawn three of his seven swords.

Of course, they were not too surprised when the 'corpses' turned to ashes and revealed three other bodies in their place. Orochimaru's turned into a child, and the guard's had two bodies of recognizable missing shinobi.

"Disgusting..." A spat. He walked to the door and opened it up to yell outside, "Get a clean up crew here!"

"I don't know this technique. So they managed to use other bodies to impersonate them?" Yugito scowled, "How filthy."

"What a freaky weirdo, I wouldn't be surprised if he spent his off time playing with a di-"

"Shut up B." A smacked him upside the head, "I need to send a missive to Konoha." He sighed out.

"Will you tell them?" The Raikage nodded, "That's good. I don't want to be in Konoha knowing it will be invaded after all...the gossip would kill me."

A twitched as he watched the two jinchuuriki continue to banter once again in his office. Really, what did he do to deserve two of the most annoying people to be made into a jinchuuriki...be apart of his village?

"I should give you both the Iron Claw."

* * *

_**END**_

_I tried my hands on the ever famous comedy/angst all in one chapter approach. Anyways. I hope you enjoyed the chapter._

_Here's your gift for today. I present to you all...the Kumogakure Elite!_

**A, the Raikage - (Out of Five) **

**Taijutsu - 5**

**Ninjutsu - 5**

**Genjutsu - 2.5**

**Intelligence - 4**

**Strength - 5**

**Speed - 5**

**Stamina - 5**

**Handseals - 3.5**

**Total - 35**

**(x)**

**Killer B**

**Taijutsu - 5**

**Ninjutsu - 5**

**Genjutsu - 2.5**

**Intelligence - 4**

**Strength - 5**

**Speed - 5**

**Stamina - 5**

**Handseals - 3**

**Total - 34.5**

**(x)**

**Nii Yugito**

**Taijutsu - 4.5**

**Ninjutsu - 5**

**Genjutsu - 2.5**

**Intelligence - 5**

**Strength - 3.5**

**Speed - 4.5**

**Stamina - 4**

**Handseals - 4**

**Total - 33**


	9. Six

_**Chapter 8**_

_**"Six"**_

(Iwa)

"Those two idiots...they are late as always." Onoki muttered as he put another stamp on his paperwork. His grand-daughter and grandson were now both watching him with amused looks on their faces. The reason for their amusement was the chair he was sitting in - it was almost an exact copy of the type of chairs restaurants would give babies - thin and tall for the purpose of height management. It was a good thing his desk was so big and eye-catching, otherwise, it would be rather embarrassing being him everyday.

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure they're just a little late from an assignment, old man." A teenaged said, "They do tend to overdo simple missions."

"You're one to talk sis! I recall you nearly killing an entire village just to flush out a single target. That mission was only C-ranked too." The bigger boy said, annoyed when he saw her shrug nonchalantly. He was fairly plump for his size and had bug cheeks, he also did not radiate the killing aura his grandfather did.

The girl however, was very different. Kurotsuchi, the grand-daughter of Onoki, was known throughout her village and her country as an efficient killer and shinobi - wherever she went, she was known by name and face. Listed as B-rank in the bingo book in just about every country in the world, she went by the moniker "Kira".

"It was just one village, Akatsuchi." She shrugged, "It's not like there was anyone important in that boring place, like Yukie."

Despite that she was an absolute monster as a person, the girl acted like a fairly regular person at home.

But as a shinobi, it was an entirely different story.

"Youngsters and their media these days." Onoki mumbled to himself, "Back in my day-"

"When the Sage of Sixth paths still lived." She cracked. The old leader glared at her but she was not effected in the least bit, a smirk on her face.

"What? It's a compliment." Kurotsuchi said in a cheeky tone, her eyes closed as she grinned. "Oh, you have such a sensitive skin old man. If you can't take a small joke like that, then maybe you should retire and give me the hat just for being so soft." She spoke as if it were inevitable.

Onoki twitched, "I'm still a hundred times better then you, grand-daughter." The dark-haired girl pouted, he ignored her. "You are one of the more competent shinobi on the force, but you have much to learn."

"B-but...you're old! I have to carry you home half the time." She pouted cutely, "Pwetty Pwease can I have the hat?" She put her hands together and gave him puppy dog eyes. Twitching again, Onoki turned away, knowing he didn't stand a chance against that technique. Smirking when she saw that he looked away, Kurotsuchi folded her arms and shined as if she had won another battle. Akatsuchi however, could only sweat-drop at the sheer amount of childishness that was being shown. Usually, she was not that care free.

"Back to business now." The old man sighed, "You will not be coming with me during the invasion."

"WHAT!?" She exclaimed, standing up. Her once laid back features now enraged in an instant - it almost scared her brother just how quickly her mood can change. "WHY NOT?"

"Because I need someone to look out for the village while I am gone!" Onoki bit out, "If I don't make it out alive, then you will be the Tsuchikage, grand-daughter. Aren't you happy?"

"Tch! For one, you're not going to die because you're still too damn powerful. Two, if you actually did die, then one of those two late idiots would become Tsuchikage, not me! Three, YOU ACTUALLY THOUGHT I WOULD LET MY OLD MAN GO TO WAR ALONE?!" She yelled out the last part, "I won't lose you to Konoha too, old man! They've taken almost everything else..."

Her parents were killed during the third world war. Of course, she had only been a child then - and by that time, all she knew was the name of the man that killed them in battle. To be frank, the name of the man who killed their family was the same for many people in Iwa. Namikaze Minato's legendary rampage was known throughout the world as one of the most bloodiest affairs in the history of the five great nations. A one man army who had walked in, outnumbered nearly twenty to one - and came out the victor. His once pure yellow hair soaked with the blood of the good men and women of Iwa.

They called it the Gaou Massacre, named for the location of the battle - Gaou Field. No one had truly understood what he did at the time of the assault, but they all knew one thing.

That it all happened in a Yellow Flash.

"My decision is final." He sighed. "You will be staying here."

She gritted her teeth hard and was about to answer until the sound of a door opening caught their attention.

Sighing again, "Grand-daughter, I called you here because if we fall, then you will be taking over the village. These two..." He pointed at the two who had just entered, "...will be accompanying me to Konoha during the Third Exam."

The man on the right was wearing a large headpiece consisting of a three pointed crown-like ridge, bearing both his Iwagakure forehead protector and ring, and a prominent black piece of armour running across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. His hair was red and he wore a long-sleeved shirt and pants, followed by a brown armor and several pieces of mesh around on it. This was Roshi, the jinchuuriki of Son Goku, the Four Tailed Monkey God.

The man on the left was the tallest figure in the room. He wore what people called a red 'steam armor' with a furnace on the back to emit steam. He has light brown eyes and his armour extends all the way to the bottom half of his face, covering it up. Underneath the armor covering the bottom half of his face, he wears a white cloth which also covers both sides of his face and the top of his head. Aside from his red armor, he also wears a red straw hat. This was Han, jinchuuriki of Kokuo, the Five Tailed Horse.

"You called, Onoki?" The man on the right, Roshi was the name he went by, drawled out. His voice was deep and laced with annoyance, "I was in the middle of something."

"As was I." The man on the left, Han, gritted out. His voice came out as if it were being modified, and it gave a fairly chilling factor.

"Tough." Onoki gritted out, "I have a mission for the both of you. During the third stage of the next chuunin exams, hosted in Konoha, you two shall be my bodyguards. You will also be key factors in the up coming invasion. Do you accept?"

The two men shared a look and shrugged.

"It's not like we have a choice." Roshi replied, his eyes narrowing. "Although, I'm surprised you would want to attack Konoha - we've been what, three time losers now?" He laughed out.

Han chuckled as well, "He's correct. Konoha is quite formidable, and I have no intention of fighting any of the Sannin if they show up. "

"Weaklings!" Kurotsuchi exclaimed angrily, "We'll destroy Konoha for sure! The Yellow Flash has been dead for nearly fourteen years now and unlike them, we've only gotten stronger over those years. With the loss of Orochimaru and the Uchiha clan, they will truly be vulnerable. With three nations against one, we will surely be victorious!"

"Oh, to be young and naive." Roshi replied wistfully, "Konoha had been hailed as the best village for a reason you know. And three on one? Don't be foolish, Kumogakure will take action and it won't be against Konoha."

"W-what?" The girl replied, shocked by the statement. "How would you know that? Orochimaru has yet to contact us about it."

Han laughed again. "Foolish girl, have you not been following the news feed? The Yondaime Raikage is not like his father, the great warmonger - A is a man of honor and peace, despite his great power, he has learned that only through peace will his family be safe. And if there is one thing the man cares about, it is his family."

Roshi continued for him, "Kumogakure has two of the nine jinchuuriki, one of them is known as a great grand-master in the art of the blade, his name is _'__Killer__' _B. The other is the famous tactician of Kumo, Nii Yugito. Her mind is as dangerous and sharp as any Nara in Konoha, or so they say." He sighed before going on with his monologue, "If Konoha manages to recall Tsunade, then we'll seriously be in trouble. As if they didn't already have enough great medics anyways. Uzumaki Naruto is not known as _'The Immortal'_ without reason and his master, _'The White Witch'_ is just as formidable."

"If Konoha allies with Kumo, then they'll have gained two of the nine jinchuuriki. The Two Tailed Cat and the Eight Tailed Ox demon." Han then finished, seemingly bored by the conversation at that point.

"Actually, Son Goku has told me that the Eight Tails is actually an 'Octo-Ox' whatever the hell that means. Anyways, we're just showing you the odds." Was a light side comment, although no one really paid attention.

The Tsuchikage spat out, "Damn cowards! Well, fortunately for you Han, Jiraiya will be handled by someone else. Tsunade is not even within fifty miles of the place and Orochimaru is on our side. All I want you two to do is attack any enemy in sight. And for your information, since Suna is with us, we will have three of the nine jinchuuriki - the son of Kinsou holds Shukaku, the one tail. Not to mention when it comes to forces, we outnumber their's by nearly one point five to one. The odds are stacked in our favor."

Sharing another look, they both sighed and nodded, annoyed by the stubbornness of their leader.

"Whatever, Onoki. Just don't keel over in the middle of battle - that would hinder us in the short term."

"Indeed." Han then turned around to leave. "If you are actually going to go through with this, then at least live to see the destruction you would have caused, you old fool."

The two jinchuuriki then left, leaving three angry Iwa shinobi.

* * *

(Konoha - Hokage's Office)

"It has been confirmed." Sarutobi grinned as he talked to his advisors, "A wishes to join us in the upcoming conflict."

"Can he be trusted?" Koharu, Sarutobi's old teammate, asked. "It's not everyday that we team up with our rivals."

It was true that Konoha and Kumo were at each other's necks most of the time in their long history. The battles between Minato and A were legendary stories told by both nations, and both of them having different version every single time. But despite the constant feuds, there was no denying the respect both nations had for one another - and it was this respect that could lead to one of the greatest alliances of all time.

"A is not the dishonest type." Homura admitted, "This could possibly be very genuine."

Danzo scoffed, "Genuine or not, we must prepare for the worst." He said, "Perhaps we can use this alliance...after all, without them, we'll have a far tougher time driving away the enemy. Iwa has two of the nine jinchuuriki in their arsenal...and we only have one. One who refuses to use the power he was blessed with to boot."

"Naruto-kun is a rather talented shinobi in his own right - do not insult the boy so easily, Danzo." Sarutobi replied sharply, "Using the Kyuubi's chakra will be his own decision. Matters not if Kumo does help us, then we'll have gained the help of Killer B and Nii Yugito."

Danzo shrugged, "Yes...they are formidable, I admit."

"Indeed." Koharu sipped her tea calmly, "Will you be recalling Tsunade?"

"I have asked Jiraiya to find her." Hiruzen said, "If he cannot find her, then she will probably not arrive in time."

Koharu sigh, "You should have taught your students lessons in loyalty, Hiruzen. A traitor, a coward and...well, a hentai."

"Unfortunate things happen." He sighed as well, knowing that Tsunade would probably not return. "Our medics are fine - it's just a damn shame that she won't return."

"We don't need that woman." Danzo gritted out, angered by her seemingly careless attitude towards her home country.

Sarutobi didn't answer - he just continued gazing at his village.

"We've nothing more to speak of in that regard. Shall we begin the plan to have high skilled shinobi secretly tail each of our genin teams in the forest of death?" Homura asked.

Some people may have called it cheating but in reality, it was more of a huge insurance policy if they lost a genin with high potential. Other countries would rarely send false genin to kill off any new up and rising stars of other countries. The chuunin exams were the best excuses for those type of missions. This time, since war was on the horizon, it was essential to go through with the defensive policy.

"Yes." Hiruzen nodded curtly.

"Who will be following the Uchiha's squad?" Danzo muttered, taking a sip of his own drink before continuing. "Itachi would not be happy to hear that his little brother is dead because he was too weak to get past a mere chuunin exam."

"According to the list, Uzumaki Naruto will be the one to tail that team." Koharu gave out an unladylike snort. "I'm sure he took that well." She said sarcastically.

Chuckling, Sarutobi agreed. "He thinks I'm wasting his time."

"He is competent." Homura spoke out, "The boy rarely fails his assignments - he's far too stubborn to lose at anything. We can trust him with Team 7."

Danzo made no comment and continued sipping his tea, still annoyed with his confrontation with the boy earlier.

"We have other things to discuss...including those fools in the dune." Danzo said, "Shall we reconvene at a later time? I realize that we have out lasted our schedule."

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes."

* * *

(Kumo - War Council)

"This War Council will now commence!"

Inside of one room, fifteen people sat in front of a large daïs - upon the daïs were three people. In the middle of three, sitting on a thrown like seat was the Yondaime Raikage, A. He wore his standard kage outfit with his official hat to mark his status. To his right was a blond woman, who's hair was tied in a pony-tail. She wore a kumo flak jacket, a longsleeved black shirt and pants, and a single white cloak draped smoothly on her shoulders. Her named was Nii Yugito, Kumo's tactician and jinchuuriki of the Two Tailed Demon Cat.

To the Raikage's left was a young man with short, blond hair and dark eyes. He wore a simple sleeveless black shirt with a one-strap-over-one-shoulder white flak jacket, forehead protector, black elbow-length arm guards, and the red and white Kumogakure shin-guards along with a pair of sandals. He was called C and he held the status as official Jounin Commander.

"Why have you summoned us here today, Raikage-sama? Have we been attacked?" One of the fifteen members asked. A vaguely recognized him as a retired shinobi and an old friend of his father - though he was the one that was always against the capture of the Hyuuga.

"War is just beyond the horizon and it will all stem from the next chuunin exams." He said calmly. The Council did not look too terribly surprised, after all, with the incident earlier and the fact that he had called them. Kumo was not unfamiliar with big conflicts so the shock factor would not have been too drastic. Not to mention, their last conflict had happened not too long ago.

"What is the situation?" Another of the councilmen asked.

Sighing, he answered. "Iwagakure has apparently teamed up with Orochimaru of the Sannin, who has apparently gathered his own force of shinobi, to attack Konoha. I have assembled you all here today to let you all know...that we are allying with Konoha."

That shocked everyone in the room. "R-Raikage-sama, wouldn't this be a wonderful opportunity to defeat those Leaf Dogs once and for all?"

"Don't be foolish." Yugito spoke up for the first time. "Orochimaru of the Sannin is a monster that will stab us all in the back as soon as we would defeat Konoha - best not ally with him and that old fool, Onoki."

"Also, as much as I hate to say it..." C followed up, "Konoha will make fantastic allies in the future for the time being. At least until we can gain enough power to prove to the world that we are the top village."

"Couldn't we just destroy Orochimaru after we defeat Konoha?" Another voice spoke up.

"Orochimaru may be a monster but he is definitely not a fool. He was a well renowned tactician back in his days as well - He was in the running for Yondaime Hokage." A replied calmly, "We cannot underestimate him."

There was a few mumblings around after that. The Raikage watched as the group began discussing their opinions and how the situation could unfold for them. During this time, Yugito turned to him and also began talking. "This is going better then I thought."

"No one on the present Council has any powerful motive to attack Konoha. Most of the old Council who forced the Hyuuga situation all died with my father." A replied. "I think I've made good selections over the years."

"It's funny how people automatically think we would team up with any enemy just to take down Konoha. We of Kumo will not be taken as fools, especially not by one of Konoha's missing-nins." The Jounin Commander added on. "This is for the best, I believe."

"Raikage-sama, have you any word on Suna?"

"They are supposed to be allies with Konoha." He replied curtly, "Though, Orochimaru seemed quite confident. I've also heard of the recent tension between the Kazekage and the Wind Daimyo - there is definitely enough motive for him to betray. We must consult Konoha about that, of course."

"What do you suppose our course of action should be?" One of them asked again. "Yugito-sama?"

"I propose that we station five platoons of ANBU at Unraikyo when the time of invasion arrives." She started. "And then..."

The Raikage smirked mentally as the Council listened to her words attentively. For the next few hours, they spent their time discussing numerous strategies with Yugito leading the talks. They would be ready for any battle to come with her in charge - despite being the Raikage, he would not have been as successful without her advising his every move. In a way, she was the second command of the village, with C falling just short.

Despite her weird quirks that annoyed him - she was still Nii Yugito, an elite shinobi.

* * *

(Konoha)

"I only have one advice for you all!" The violet haired woman yelled out, "Just don't die!"

And with those words, all of the competing genin teams raced off to their respective gates. Mitarashi Anko held an interesting rank in Konoha, known as Tokubetsu Jounin, not quite Jounin but very close - she specialized in assassination. She had light brown eyes, her violet hair was done up in a short, fairly spiky ponytail. The woman wore a tan overcoat and complete with a fitted mesh body suit that stretches from her neck down to her thighs with an dark orange mini skirt.

"You know..." She said aloud, seemingly talking to herself because no one was visible around her, "Don't you have something to do?"

Behind a tree, hidden carefully, was a blonde haired teen. "I have plenty of time to track those twerps down." Naruto replied. He appeared next to her in a flash, "I just wanted to say hi to an old friend."

"Tch! You don't just say hi to people. And we're hardly old friends, brat. You have a purpose here and you're trying to sweet talk me into giving it to you." She replied, a predatory look now in her eyes. "Talk."

"Heh, I actually did just want to say hi, Anko-chan. But now that you mention it, I was wondering if you sensed anything weird amongst those kids?" He asked seriously.

She quirked a brow, curious. "Nothing in particular. Why do you ask?"

Naruto didn't answer immediately, his eyes gazing at the forest.

(x)

_(Flashback)_

_Naruto was having a weird morning. Of course, being a medical shinobi for the majority of his life, he had waken up to several odd jobs. One day, Rin had called him in to fix a guy that managed to get a kunai stuck into his left hand, glued as if accidently using chakra to force it in. There was another time when he met a Hyuuga who kept spouting on and on about fate and how he was stuck to fight it - he had never met a Hyuuga who mumbled to himself so much before, it was almost comically annoying now that he thought about it. _

_But right now, in his very office while he was taking in his simple breakfast, the doctor found himself listening to one of his other foxes talk about his wild night with a bunch of friends. _

_"So this idiot thought he could talk up one of the cuties at the hub! And man, was she a vixen! Red coat, thin eyes and a tail to die for, man...if I wasn't already committed with children..." Gin muttered the last part._

_"_I didn't think foxes were capable of monogamy_." The blonde thought, amused by the silver fox's admission._

_"She told me her name was Akane! I should totally bring her to you, Champ. She said she was a business specialist or something."_

_Naruto shook his head, "Hime is already handling that job for me." He replied calmly, "I don't want to offend her, that would be quite devastating." _

_"That's true." Gin admitted grumpily, "Not to mention she's daddy's little girl...man, Akira would destroy you if you ever hurt his little daughter. He can be very over protective at times, it's a little crazy." He mocked slightly in a high pitched tone. Naruto snorted at the show. _

_"I'm shocked that you would mock him so easily. Everyone else treats him like a God." The doctor said, "Not that I can blame any of them. Akira was very intense when I met him - he radiated an aura that basically says 'kiss your ass good bye if you piss me off'." _

_Gin laughed hard at that, rolling around a bit. "I'm not gonna say it to his face Champ. If I did, he'd have me thrown into Inari's pit!" The silver fox shivered at the thought, "Only the best come from there. I'm good...but it would be troublesome to be locked up in there." _

_"Never thought I'd see the day when the Fox clan's only space/time ninjutsu specialist fear something other then his wife and children's disapproval." He quipped with a chuckle, "Akira must be powerful."_

_"You have no idea Champ." Gin replied, "You have no idea..."_

_"Anyways, what are you doing here Gin? It's not everyday that you just pop up for a visit." The blonde said, "Hell, when I first signed the contract, I didn't even think you liked me." _

_"What? That's ridiculous! If I didn't like you, I'd be calling you Chump, not Champ!" Gin smiled, "But yeah, I did come for something. Word on the street is...Konoha will soon be under attack from several villages." _

_"Are we now?" He replied sarcastically, having already known for a week now. "I sure hope Kumo isn't in on it, I remember how powerful their shinobi are. Especially that idiotic rapper and Kitty." The fox sweat-dropped. _

_"You are referring to two of the most powerful humans in your world as the 'idiotic rapper' and 'Kitty'?" Gin asked calmly. Naruto nodded, making the elder fox smirk. "See, that's why I call you Champ. Anyways, like I was saying before - when I heard about it, I had to come running to see what you were gonna do! It's been ages since this place has been invaded, not since the second war I think..."_

_"Why do you care?" Naruto asked shrewdly, "Konoha's problems are not the fox clan's." _

_"Are you kidding me Champ? The guys back home love you! If you die, then we'll be losing a good man." Gin told him, "We foxes take care of our own!" _

_"How...touching." Naruto wasn't really sure how to feel about Gin's words. For years now, he and the foxes had a rather fair relationship, but he never expected such a show of camaraderie from Gin of all foxes. "But I assure you, I won't die. I'm not infamous for nothing, you know." _

_"You see, that's what we all thought too Champ! Until we found out just who the hell you guys were going up against. You see, your opponents have even caught the eye of Akira!" _

_The blonde narrowed his eyes, "What are you saying? I realize that Iwa is probably one of them, I'm not too sure who else is in on it though." _

_"Oto." Gin said, "According to our sources, Oto will be our enemy." Naruto quirked a brow at the 'our' statement. "Our enemies are Oto, Iwa and Suna." _

_"We are allied with Suna!" Naruto exclaimed, "How did you get word that they will betray us?" _

_"My buddies and I had to go to the desert recently for an excavation! We overheard a Jounin talking about it discreetly to a chuunin. We have confirmed that Suna will indeed betray Konoha." _

_Naruto was shocked. Of course, he realized that war was coming but he didn't think they would be this outmatched - for Suna to defect meant that they would be surrounded completely by hostiles. _

_Things were not looking good. _

_"And Kumo?" He asked, "If Kumo attacks us, we're finished." _

_"No...we have no word on Kumo. I think you should go tell the old guy about Suna - he probably already suspects it but a confirmation will make preparation easier."_

_Naruto nodded, "Is there anything else?" _

_"Beware of a red headed boy." Gin replied, as if reciting a quote he had been told. "The desert foxes think that he will be the 'dark horse threat' of sorts from Suna. He'll be the most dangerous other than their boss, Kinsou I think he was named. Kinsou, the Fourth Kazekage."_

_"The Golden Superman, Kinsou. Yes, I know of him, unfortunately." Was Naruto's grim reply, "He is easily one of the world's most powerful shinobi."_

_"Onoki, Kinsou and Orochimaru...they will not be easy to overcome. Not to ment-" Gin suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Naruto seemed bemused for a moment and spoke out to him._

_"Something wrong?" _

_Gin looked at him as if he were crazy, "You don't feel that?" His voice was low, caution tainted in it. "Really...?" _

_Narrowing his eyes and tilting his head slightly, he asked, "Feel...what?" Naruto then began stirring his tea slowly and took a slow sip before closing his eyes, in order to focus on his surroundings. That was when it hit him, a sense of absolute and utter blackness. It was as if an aura of destruction had arrived - ready to set the world into a sort of chaos, anarchy. _

_The blonde stood up and walked to his window, his gaze now searching the village in hope of finding this source of darkness, "How did I miss that?" He asked rhetorically, his tone was grim. "What...is that?"_

_"I don't know Champ." Gin replied slowly, "But it is without a shadow of a doubt, your enemy..."_

_Naruto nodded, "I need to talk to the Hokage. I'll see you later." He breathed out, the fox agreed and then disappeared without a sound, leaving the blonde to think to himself for a moment. _

_"Who are you?"_

_There was no answer as the village stayed the way it was in his sight._

_(End Flashback)_

(x)

"I just felt something odd earlier." He replied, "Guess I'll get going now. The Uchiha, the pink one and the dog kid won't last long if they're targeted."

Anko nodded. "Good luck with that, kid. I pity you, I would hate to get this crappy mission." And with that, she walked off - leaving the blonde to go meet his fate in the forest of death.

* * *

**END**

_I have more then just stats today. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, also, I made a few edits to the early chapters. I hope they answer your questions, especially about Naruto's past. _

_About the stats, there is something I need to let you all know. The official stats from Kishimoto...will not be completely accurate. You'll notice it once I start listing Akatsuki members. _

_Thanks for reading._

_**The Fox Clan (So Far)**_

_1) Sajin (Blue): Scout_

_2) Vulpone (Red): Detection_

_3) Hime (Violet): Strategist_

_4) Gin (Silver): Thief _

_5) Akira (Black): Boss_

(-) (-) (-) (-) (-) (-)

**Ryotenbin no Onoki **

**Taijutsu - 2**

**Ninjutsu - 5**

**Genjutsu - 4.5**

**Intelligence - 5**

**Strength - 3.5**

**Speed - 4**

**Stamina - 5**

**Handseals -5**

**Total - 34**

**(x)**

**Roshi**

**Taijutsu - 4.5**

**Ninjutsu - 5**

**Genjutsu - 1**

**Intelligence - 5**

**Strength - 4.5**

**Speed - 3.5**

**Stamina - 5**

**Handseals - 4.5**

**Total - 33**

**(x)**

**Han**

**Taijutsu - 4.5**

**Ninjutsu - 4.5**

**Genjutsu - 2**

**Intelligence - 4**

**Strength - 5**

**Speed - 4.5**

**Stamina - 4**

**Handseals - 5**

**Total - 33.5**


	10. Fox vs Snake

_**Chapter 9**_

_**"Fox vs. Snake"**_

It was a dark, humid night. The stars were shining brightly down upon the eerie forest. The trees were high above the ground from what Team 7 could see, as they were now camped in a secluded area away from any scenes of battle. Uchiha Sasuke had led his team to fight to other squads a couple times already, and both bouts were successful - but ultimately in vain as their goal was still incomplete. They had the earth scroll and needed a heaven scroll, something the last two opponents lacked, unfortunately.

"What a day..." Kiba muttered quietly, scratching a wound he had gotten earlier, on his ribs. A couple of rain shinobi had managed to catch him by surprise when he was taking a 'leak' away from his teammates. Luckily, Akamaru had sensed them instantly when they revealed themselves. "Didn't think Rain shinobi were so good at masking their scent..."

"We can't underestimate anyone here, Kiba." Sakura was the one who had bandaged him after the fight, "We'll lose for sure that way. Of course, with Sasuke-kun here, I doubt we'll lose to anybody!" Was her quiet exclamation.

"Hn." The raven haired boy grunted, "Quiet. Someone might sneak up on us."

"Oh don't worry, we set up a good perimeter of traps around Sasuke. Beyond that, Akamaru and I will be able to smell anyone coming our way! No problem."

"Arf. Arf."

"See, Akamaru agrees."

Sighing, Sasuke just shrugged - not wanting to argue with the dog of all people. "Who's taking first watch?"

"I'll do it." Sakura volunteered immediately. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you guys."

Nodding, Sasuke found a small tree and began to doze off. Kiba was not too far from him, "I'll take second." He said before falling asleep himself. Sakura just sat at the small bonfire, contemplating her actions on the day so far.

_"I didn't do anything." _She scolded herself_._The girl wanted very much to express her frustration in loud grumblings but it would have probably distracted her from her current objective. Sakura did not know what to do with the skills she learned from the academy - at the moment, she had seen the distance between herself and the rest of her fellow graduates, even her 'rival' Ino. Unlike them, she didn't have any special techniques or clan moves, all she had were her smarts - and to the pink haired girl, that was just plain unacceptable.

It all began back in Wave when she was asked to spar against that doctor, Naruto. At first, she was hesitant to fight him. Why? Because the older teen was a chuunin, he was clearly the superior fighter. It surprised Sakura just how powerful a person of his age could be, when they had fought, the blonde did not even try when defeating her. He mocked her sense of strategy and intelligence, something that she took pride in more so than her love for Sasuke.

_"I need to get stronger..."_ She thought to herself, conviction filling in strongly. "I don't want to be a burden anymore..." She spoke very quietly for the sake of her teammates.

She watched her crush sleep peacefully by the tree and began thinking again. _"He's so strong...so focused. Why can't I do the same?" _Her gaze then turned to her other teammate, Kiba. _"Even Kiba, who was the dead last in the Academy...he's strong too. Kiba's stronger than me for sure." _

She began drawing various patterns in the dirt, all of them were equations she had learned from the academy. They varied from things like projections of kunai and measurement of chakra levels - it was then she realized, all of it didn't matter in the field. The academy taught this in order for children to understand the rudimentary science behind it all, it was not applicable in the field.

But she wanted to make it so that this information was usable. She didn't want to feel useless and weak.

_"Maybe I should listen to Kakashi-sensei. Naruto-sensei was strong...I hope he'll teach me again." _Her Jounin-sensei had recommended that she learned medical techniques. He had told her to seek out Naruto and bug him until he gave in to teach her. Of course, Sakura thought the Jounin was kidding at first because the blonde didn't seem like the type to teach her anything.

He had been incredibly harsh when addressing her. The blonde would mock her, let out snide comments about how incompetent the academy was, and pretty much mad fun of her the entire time during their tenure at Wave Country.

Actually, she still thought he was joking.

"...What a jerk." She sighed.

(x)

(Close by)

"Achoo!" Naruto sneezed quietly into his elbows. "Someone is talking about me."

At the moment, the élite doctor was sitting quietly on top of a tree branch - far above the resting genin. Night had fallen and all movements around him had ceased - although unlike the genin below him, he was not in the least bit relieved yet.

_"I'll catch some sleep when the dog kid takes watch." _He thought tiredly. _"Good thing he's still a fresh genin. Any good Inuzuka would have caught me by now."_

* * *

(Next Day - Jounin Lounge)

Kakashi watched with a fearful gaze at the two people in front of him. Now generally speaking, he had fought many terrifying enemies in the past: Nuke-nins who all ranked from C to A rank, a giant bear that was destroying a village for some reason, a serpent that had terrorized a glee club, hell the man even fought legion of zombies during his tenure as a shinobi. But the sight in front of him gave him goosebumps that travelled all the way to his back - and to think, one of them was his comrade.

"YOSHA!" A loud voice rang out, "You're rhymes have ignited my flames of youth, B-san! But it shall be my genin team who will topple yours in this exam!"

"What's that? Are you throwing down the challenge green man? Because my squad is gonna beat yours so bad that they'll make you their biggest fan! COME ON!" The dark-skinned Kumogakure ninja replied with just as much enthusiasm.

All of the other Jounin who were waiting for their genin to either pass or fail the second exam watched as the two exchanged bouts.

"MY YOUTHFUL APPRENTICES SHALL OVERCOME! OUR FLAMES OF YOUTH SHALL DEFEAT ALL OF THEIR FOES, THEY WILL RISE TO IGNITE THE HEAT OF THEIR SOULS! YOSHA!" Gai pumped his arms into the sky, he roared a battle cry as if he were charging into a pact battlefield of enemies.

"Oh yeah my brotha'! My genin'll be fightin' off monsters with a thunda'! They draw their swords faster than any samurai, they can charm a baby to end their sorrowful cries!"

Kakashi shivered, _"That was awful!" _He looked around to the other shinobi in the room and was glad that he was not the only one who felt traumatized by the two eccentric individuals. _"Sakura...Sasuke...Kiba, PLEASE HURRY UP AND GET TO THE TOWER AND GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" _The Jounin cried to himself mentally, not even his book could save him from this travesty.

"Now, now...no need to start a war here guys." Asuma joked as he attempted to calm the two powerful shinobi, while repeating a mantra to himself mentally. _"I will not go insane. I will not go insane. I will not go insane. I will not go insane." _

Kurenai watched with neutral eyes, both amusement and terror creeping up on her spine as she watched Gai banter with the Kumo shinobi, Asuma rock back and forth mumbling to himself, whilst Kakashi had his hands over his ears and crouching up against his seat.

It was hilarious but something else worried her. _"Will I turn out like that?"_

She could only pray to the God of Shinobi, asking that she wouldn't have any quirks by the time her career was over.

"You must be confident in your team, B-san! I wish them well so we can meet in the finals!" Gai exclaimed, manly tears pouring from his eyes. B nodded too, just as eager as the green Jounin next to him.

"Can't wait till I get to see my crew wipe the floor around here! Omoi with the quickness and the thunderous punch! Karui who draws her katana lightning fast and strikes down her enemies with no fear! Samui with the power to make them all bow down at a crunch!" B then took out a single note pad and wrote all of his rhymes down, a wide smile on his face.

_"What the fuck did I just listen to?"_ Kakashi thought to himself miserably, _"Oh please, just kill me. I can't take it." _

_"I will not go insane. I will not go insane. I will not go insane. I will not go insane." _

"Man...it's fun around here in the Forest. Better than my brotha' at home who can't smile for nothin'. You know what I'm sayin'?" He said, for the first time anyone could remember, in non-rhyming terms.

Gai agreed, "Konoha is truly great! I'm sure Kumo is just as great!"

"Oh yeah man, we have a famous training grounds called Unraikyo. That's where I live! If you wanna come by and see, stop by and I'll show you why they call me the Killa' B!"

"What a youthful offer! I shall remember your request some time in the future, yosh!"

It was as if two pieces of a puzzle was placed together perfectly when the two met randomly in the Jounin lounge. For Kakashi and Asuma - it was a dark, dark day in the history of the shinobi world.

"So..." Genma spoke up, determined to stop the craziness of the situation. "How do you think your team's gonna do?" He himself didn't have one but the Jounin lounge was a nice place to hang out with people and relax from time to time.

"What do you think fool? They're gonna wipe this competition cleaner than a metal stool." B shrugged, "My squads' been fightin' chuunin since I taught them how to use a blade, if they fail, I'll make them wish they were neva' made."

"...Right." Genma nodded, bemused about how to answer that. Carefully repositioning his teeth senbon, he then said. "How long have you had them?"

"Two years."

"Really? You never made them take it earlier?" He asked. If the man was so confident, then why didn't he have them put in earlier.

"Because a beautiful woman once told me that patience was key, and I see what she was sayin' cuz the competition here is wea-k." Frowning, he shook his head and made more notes inside his note pad.

"I don't know about that. I heard our rookies were pretty good this year - we've got an entire generation of clan children and the last Uchiha." Another Jounin said, Genma knew him as Raido, a shades wearing ninja like the Kumogakure shinobi next to him.

The dark-skinned Kumo shinobi scoffed. "Brotha', blood-lines don't mean shit in life, heart is what really matters on field. If you scared to take on a man with a special scythe, how you gonna meet your goals without getting killed?" B replied wisely, "You can't always avoid a raging beast, sometime you gotta fight it to make it cease!"

"...Those are surprisingly wise words..." Kurenai replied out loud, "As expected from a Legendary shinobi such as yourself, B-san."

"Indeed..." Genma agreed. "Still, the competition will prove to be interesting. My bet is on the Hyuuga, I heard that he was a beast."

"Maaah...Don't overlook my kids now. Kiba, Sasuke and Sakura are all individually talented in their own ways." Kakashi eye-smiled. Genma just stared at him. "What?"

"Nothing." Genma chuckled, "Anyways, what do you think, Kurenai?"

He would have asked Asuma had the man not looked like he was suffocating.

The raven haired woman smiled serenely, "I've training my genin well. You will be seeing all of them in the finals."

"Y'all are so confident in your kids, but I just have to say one thing, mine are the best. Just remember that when they're all done with the test!" The Kumo nin had a smug look on his face.

They all laughed.

"We'll see, B-san. We'll see." Kurenai replied.

* * *

(Later that day - Forest of Death)

_Kukukukehehehehe..._

Sasuke's head snapped to the branch beside him and scanned the area from where he heard the sound. _"What was that?" _His senses were on full alarm after that creepy omen. "Did you guys hear something?"

"No." Sakura replied almost instantly, "Kiba?"

"Nothing. Are you alright?" The other boy seemed frazzled, "What's wrong?"

"I thought I heard a laugh..." He muttered to himself, now realizing that the hairs on his arms had just come alive. "Forget it, I thought I heard something."

_Kukuke__**hehehehehe**__hehehah__**ahahah**__ahaha__**hah**__a! - ! - !_

And that was when he felt it - a surging intent to kill washed over the three genin. Widening his eyes, he tried to scan the area around them once again to find the source. Sasuke felt like he was suffocating in water, despite clearly being on the ground - he turned to face his team and saw that they weren't any better.

"Ki-" He was cut off when his male teammate got sent flying by a great force of wind. "What the-"

"Kukukuhehehehehe..." The raven haired boy looked up. He was met with the visage of a grass ninja he had seen earlier, the one who appeared behind the proctor when she was messing around with Kiba. Her hair was long, dark and she also wore a light brown kasa on her head.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Her smile made Sasuke's insides curl in a violent way, "We meet at last..."

(x) - (x) - (x)

"A-Akamaru!" The brown haired boy exclaimed, "Akamaru!"

"W-where are you?"

The last thing Kiba remembered was being hit by a sudden flash of wind - the force behind it launched him probably half a mile away from his teammates. His body ached from the sheer power of the impact of the attack. During his flight, he also lost his partner, Akamaru somewhere. He was dazed and isolated from his friend, the boy was simply unprepared for what was next to come.

"Ssssssssss..." The genin turned around and was surprised to see a gigantic snake creeping up behind him, its jaws were open. Angered by the surprised, a fire was lit in him. "Damn you!" He took out a multitude of kunai and shuriken - then began raining down the weapons at the beast. "Die!"

The snake took the shurikens without a hint of damage. It's hissing became more erratic as it approached the young genin.

"Tsuuga (Passing Fang)!" His body turned into a drill as he struck the snake from an angle. But it was not victory as the beast coiled up and took minimum damaged. Seeing the boy's attack return, it smoothly moved away and struck its tail down and slammed the genin down into the ground.

Dazed even further, Kiba jumped back and launched explosive-kunais at the snake. It continued like that for a minute or so and he was running out of ideas. The majority of his attacks were in vain - even his explosive notes were weak against the monster. Slowly, he felt himself being cornered by the snake, until there was no where left to run.

He could hear his heart beat pounding in his ears. _"I-Is this it?" he_ felt as if his short life was flashing before his eyes. The smile of his sister, the laughing of his mother and the camaraderie he felt between his teammates and friends. Kiba was frightened now, the loss of it all was now coming to him in split seconds as the snake made it's way over. _"I'm gonna die..."_

"Sssssssssssssss..." Kiba took one last glance at the snake, the body of it had just coiled into a striking position. The genin closed his eyes and waited for the attack.

"**! - ! - !**"

Hearing an abnormal sound, the genin turned back and was shocked to see the head of the snake lopped off, flying sideways into a random bush.

"Heh." The grunt came from nearby, near the spot where the snake was. "Snake hunting. A reasonable cause for being summoned." He muttered to himself.

The source of the voice was a medium sized green fox. On four legs, it stood at about the same height an academy student would be, not too tall in Kiba's opinion but for an animal, it was fairly big. In its mouth was a sharp, fancy dagger that dripped of the blood of the newly fallen snake. On its face was a single scar on it's closed left eye, only the right eye was open with the ability to see.

Smirking, the fox spoke in a deep voice. "Hello Konoha genin."

"W-what are you? Who are you?" Kiba panted, blood dripping from his shoulders. "A fox...?"

"Name's Zoroi, kid - and I'm of the Fox Clan. Naruto called me in to make sure you didn't die from an attack. Fortunately, I found a snake trying to kill you instead...and man, was that fun." He snarked, "It seems Konoha is in danger after all - I can feel that sick presence all the way from here."

"What do you mean?" The genin breathed out, "It's the chuunin exams, of course we're in danger." The fox shook his head and sighed.

"It's no surprise that you aren't able feel the presence of that monster. You're just a kid after all." He smiled, "Come on. I'll lead you back to your teammates. Naruto will handle the enemy."

Kiba didn't know what was going on. "W-wait, where's Akamaru?" Right as he said those words, a flash of white tackled him in the stomach. "Akamaru! You're safe!" The genin let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Oh, the puppy - forgot all about you for a second there. I found him knocked out about ten meters from here. Don't worry, he'll be fine - no serious wounds." The fox then turned around to face the direction of the previous battle, "Let's go."

Kiba nodded, "Thank you..." He voice was gracious, and the boy let out a single tear as his relief finally hit him full. "Thank you so much..."

"Heh, no problem kid. Now let's go! We don't have all day."

Nodding, the genin followed Zoroi as they jumped up on the branches, intending to find Sasuke and Sakura.

(x) - (x) - (x)

Sakura was scared grass genin in front of her. She could practically feel the tension coming from her crush beside her - like her, Sasuke was also frozen within the genjutsu. In a mere second, she saw the moment of her death in fair clarity and had no illusions that Sasuke had seen the same. Her feet felt as if it were super glued to the branch she was on, her movements had ceased along with her ability to think clearly.

"Hmmm..." The girl made a disappointed sound, "I expected so much better from you, Sasuke-kun."

The Uchiha activated his sharingan and repelled the genjutsu easily after, "That's better..." She smirked, "Now show me...just what can you do...?"

"Who are you?" Despite his fire, he still felt fear of the person in front of him. The killing intent she was leaking surpassed Zabuza by far and it scared him. Whoever the person was, Sasuke was not confident in his chances of victory. "Why are you here?"

_"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning)_!"_ The grass genin struck his palm into the ground and below appeared a giant snake. Widening his eyes, he quickly ran to grab Sakura and dodged the tail swipe that the snake had launched. "Come on Sasuke-kun, you can do better than that."

He turned around and saw that the snake was coming at them again. He tried to jump but stopped when another movement came out of no where. A spark of green came out of nowhere and lopped off the head of the snake, forcing the grass genin to jump back on to a nearby branch.

"Tch." She made an annoyed teeth sucking sound, "A fox huh..."

Landing on a nearby tree as well was a green fox, followed by the third member of team 7. "Guys!"

"Kiba! Wait, who's that?" Sakura asked, "A fox?"

The genin didn't answer in time. A movement that neither of them caught blew by them and ran at Sasuke, _"I need to mark him now!" _The Uchiha, despite his Sharingan, couldn't react in time as the person extended his neck and went to bite him. Just as his teeth were about to make contact however, the grass genin's head jumped back, as if in retreat when several shuriken came flying from the side.

Landing in front of Sasuke was a familiar figure. "Naruto-san?" He breathed out slowly, tired from the ordeal already. "What are you doing here?"

"Run." Was the only reply he offered the genin. "Get your team and run away as fast as possible. Don't look back, just look forward and keep running. Try to make false tracks as well."

"Why?" He asked, bemused by the situation. "What's going on?"

"The person in front of us..." Naruto's gaze never left the grass genin. The focus in his eyes left Sasuke in even more confusion. "...is definitely no genin. Run as fast as you can! GO!"

Nodding rapidly, Sasuke ran over to his team and relayed the message. In a mere second, the three left at the highest speed a genin could go. "Zoroi! Follow them and make sure that they're safe." The fox grinned and nodded.

"Oi, don't die." Was the fox's parting salute before he jumped away. Naruto watched as the grass genin glared at the fox and then at him, all he could do at the moment was return to scathing look.

Walking up calmly, the 'grass girl' began speaking in a different voice - once feminine turned to less feminine. "Must you get in my way?" A hint of annoyance laced so deeply, that it almost came off as anger. Well, for him anyways.

"...Take off that face." Naruto spat with disgust, "You don't fool me snake."

"You are just like your father. Too much of a meddlesome fool to mind his own business." The girl grabbed her face tore off the skin like it were a snake. The visage of a young woman now gone and replaced by a man with pale skin and yellow eyes.

"Orochimaru..." Naruto growled out, glaring at the man.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Orochimaru snarled, a sick scowl on his face. "Do you actually think that you can hold me off for long?"

Naruto didn't answer.

"That's the answer I was expecting." His snarl turned into a vicious smirk, "Now then, are you prepared to deal with the consequences of interrupting my plans?"

* * *

(Elsewhere)

"These bodies..." A chuunin gasped, "W-what happened to them?"

Anko looked at the three corpses in stunned silence, her eyes were wide open as panic filled her. _"No..."_ It was as if an old nightmare of hers had come to life. The one in which her master would return and raze the village to it's terrible demise. Of course, she knew for a fact that this time, it wasn't a nightmare. Reality had come forth and spoken, Orochimaru was in the village, his motives are unknown.

And he was in the forest of death. "CALL IN THE ANBU!" She exclaimed to one of the chuunin, and after, the woman turned to the other chuunin, "YOU, GO INFORM HOKAGE-SAMA!" She paused for a moment, not wanting her extreme sense of danger going off now.

"Go tell them...that Orochimaru has returned...and he is here."

* * *

(Naruto vs. Orochimaru)

"Come out, come out..." A sick voice sang out, "You can't hide forever...Besides, weren't you the one to initiate this confrontation?"

The snake Sannin calmly hid in the shadows of a large branch. He was fairly impressed with his opponent's ability to sneak around and plant traps - having already triggered a few failed attempts already. With an experienced eye, the legend could see that the blonde had surrounded some of the area with explosive tags - making escape rather difficult for him unless he got serious.

For the last few minutes, it had been a fairly quiet battle. Neither opponent too eager to strike openly, both of them knowing that one mistake might a devastating one.

"You know, I've heard about your great medical exploits over the years. For example, the time you solved the 'plague' that originated from Grass. Did you know that it was actually a creation of mine? A work of genius really, what did you think of it?" His voice was like a ghostly whisper. "I was quite disappointed when it didn't work..." He leaped from the shadow of his tree and landed into another. Within mere seconds, the previous spot he was in exploded into fire.

"You are unlike the rest of the shinobi your age." Orochimaru groused, "Unfortunately, I don't wish to stick around for too long." His peripheral vision caught a shadow.

He smirked, _"He has good speed, moving at about four hundred sixty two meters per second. Not bad." _

"Do you know how snakes hunt, Naruto-kun?" Letting out more killing intent then he had in years, the snake Sannin opened his eyes and mouth, allowing his tongue to fall out. "Let me show you. Mandara no Jin (Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes)." Out of his mouth poured out a legion of small, green snakes. The sound of terrible hissing could be heard as they all approached a single, random tree. The elder shinobi watched it carefully.

_"You can't hide body heat, Naruto-kun." _He mentally accessed, _"Snakes can hunt any enemy that lives." _

As the legion slithered up the tree, Naruto narrowed his eyes and calmly thought to himself. _"Snakes have good eyes...Hm." _The blonde then formed the tiger seal.

"Katsu."

The tree he was previously in exploded into fire as well, taking out a majority of Orochimaru's snakes. _"Found you!" _

"Fuuton: Daitoppa (Great Breakthrough)!" The blonde recognized the attack as the same one that launched Kiba nearly half a mile away from his teammates. Except unlike that last one, this attack had more power put into it.

Flashing through his own seals, he muttered. "Fuuton: Shinkugyoku (Vacuum Sphere)." Naruto inhaled half of the sannin's attack and blasted several spheres of wind back at the man - damaging several trees with small holes along the way.

Smoothly dodging the attacks, Orochimaru opened his mouth wide open again. This time however, another version of himself came out, his lower body morphed into a single form and he was slithering like a snake. His new body's form seemed to lack legs but he moved with a quickness the blond found cautious. _"That must be his famous snake body modification technique."_

_"Let's see how he will handle this..." _Smiling, "Sen'ei Tajashu (Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)!" From his arms, seven huge snakes erupted from his sleeves and moved elusively at the blonde chuunin.

He frowned, "Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)!" A second and third Naruto appeared with a poof of smoke. "Give me oil." He nodded to one of them, before turning to the other. "You, give me fire."

Orochimaru widened his eyes as he watched the three complete their combo. _"Ninjutsu specialist? How funny." _

"Doton: Sekiyu-ike (Oil Pond)." The old shinobi watched as the floor beneath him melted into liquid. "Katon: Tenka (Ignition)." In a second flat, that very ground turned into a luscious blaze of fire - in the moment, he had stopped the incoming onslaught of snakes. Not bothering to see if he struck gold on the attack however, the original also yelled out. "Fuuton: Shinkuuha (Vacuum Wave)!" Manipulating the wind, he directed his multiple stream of windy cuts everywhere around him, allowing the streaming fire to follow as well. Within seconds, the area around where had fought Orochimaru had turned into a blazing inferno. Scanning the area, he nodded to his clones and disappeared.

Orochimaru however, escaped on to an untouched tree with hardly any damaged except for a scorched sleeve. He watched with intrigue as the forest was lit up. Trees were falling down and the once dark and quiet forest was now turned into a magnificent show of unending fire. _"Hiding in a forest of flames. Not only can he avoid standard snake detection now - but with this, he's lit a signal for reinforcements. An aggressive, defensive and tactical move all in one bundle. Very clever." _Although the boy had interrupted his plans, a small feeling of respect formed in him. _"A fine shinobi he is. Fortunately, I'm no regular man either." _

Falling calmly to the ground from his hiding spot with a grace, Orochimaru closed his eyes - using his years of experience to shut out the ruckus the fire was making all around him, his focus overcoming all of his primary senses. _"Tori, I, Inu, Uma, Tori, Ushi, U, Tori, Inu, Mi, Uma, Tori, Ushi, U, Tori, Inu, Mi, Uma, Tori, Ushi, U, Tori, Inu, Mi, Uma, Uma, Tori, Ushi, U, Tori, Inu, Mi, Tori, Ushi, U, Tori, Inu, Mi, Tatsu, Uma!" _

"Doton: Joutei Toride (Titan's Fortress)!"

And in a single instant, right as the man slammed his both hands to the ground, the earth below had begun shaking like it would during an earthquake. Naruto widened his eyes in shock and jumped out from his hiding spot just in time to see the earth's surface flip upside down as if it were a door, taking the blazing inferno underground. Just as quick as his ignition of the forest, it was just was quickly put out.

The result of the technique was clear - a part of the once great forest had now turned completely barren, nothing but earth remained. Naruto was smart enough to realize that this was no man's land and the moment he stepped foot into the clearing, his opponent would find and kill him.

_"Son of a bitch." _He mentally groused, _"How can a mere man hold such awesome power?" _

"Kukukuku...you've been an interesting opponent, Naruto-kun. But I've had my fair share of fun for today." Orochimaru sighed wistfully. Widening his eyes even further, Naruto couldn't react in time as the man drove a sword into his chest from behind. Twisting the blade, he removed it in a manner that cut up several of his internal functions. Not to mention blood was pouring out quickly - the only thing saving him now was natural healing.

Yelling out in pain as the man took it out, Naruto had no choice but to jump back - only to have his pain heighten as Orochimaru swung his sword and slashed down across his chest, leaving a terrible wound. Landing roughly on the ground, Naruto looked up to see the sickening smirk of his enemy and then to his sword. _"Fuck...that's the Kusanagi. I've been poisoned!"_

"It is probably as you think Naruto-kun. This is the legendary poison of the Kusanagi. Against a regular foe, this would slay instantly but I have no doubts that you've prepared your body to handle poisons - so you're probably just paralyzed for the moment. You and I, we are a lot alike you know. Just as I am a scientist, you are a doctor - there is not much of a difference.

"To think that I would meet a fellow ninjutsu specialist at your age. I'm afraid your specialty is around the medical field, however, you have shown to be quite adept at elemental combinations. Impressive overall, I give you an eight out of ten." The snake Sannin chuckled at his own joke. Naruto looked up and watched as he lifted his sword up above his head.

"Killing you directly would anger my former friends and unfortunately, I cannot afford their ire at the moment. I'll let you live for now, Naruto-kun...but know this, you owe me a life. Kukukukukekehehehehahahahaha ha!"

Turning around, and still laughing happily, the Sannin walked into the shadows of the forest and in an instant, he disappeared from Naruto's immediate senses.

_"Shit."_ Naruto thought panicked, his conscious fading quickly. _"Bleeding too much. My lips are dry...I can't feel my legs...Kurama...wake up...I need..." _And with that, the teen closed his eyes and passed out, overwhelmed by the power of the Kusanagi's poison.

* * *

_**END**_

_It was an interesting fight to write. Since I made my Naruto far more intelligent than most stories, I couldn't just have him fight the man up close because that would go against my prior build up. I had to make him fight as if he were a player and Orochimaru was the boss. _

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter. _

_**The Fox Clan **_

_1) Sajin (Blue): Scout_

_2) Vulpone (Red): Detection_

_3) Hime (Violet): Strategist_

_4) Gin (Silver): Thief_

_5) Zoroi (Green): Combat_

_6) Akira (Black): Boss_

_Now, I had a request to place the stats of the lower leveled people in order to...ground out the stats in a way. So here it is._

**Team 7 (As of Now)**

**Inuzuka Kiba**

**Taijutsu - 2.5**

**Ninjutsu - 1.5**

**Genjutsu - 1**

**Intelligence - 1**

**Strength - 2.5**

**Speed - 3.5**

**Stamina - 1.5**

**Handseals - 1**

**Total - 14.5**

**(x)**

**Uchiha Sasuke**

**Taijutsu - 2.5**

**Ninjutsu - 2.5**

**Genjutsu - 1.5**

**Intelligence - 2**

**Strength - 1.5**

**Speed - 3**

**Stamina - 2**

**Handseals - 3**

**Total - 18**

**(x)**

**Haruno Sakura**

**Taijutsu - 0.5**

**Ninjutsu - 1**

**Genjutsu - 2.5**

**Intelligence - 4**

**Strength - 0.5**

**Speed - 0.5**

**Stamina - 1**

**Handseals - 4**

**Total - 14**

**(x)**

**Orochimaru of the Sannin **

**Taijutsu - 3.5**

**Ninjutsu - 5**

**Genjutsu - 5**

**Intelligence - 5**

**Strength - 3.5**

**Speed - 4.5**

**Stamina - 3.5**

**Handseals - 5**

**Total - 35**


	11. Power

_**Chapter 10**_

_**"Power"**_

_(Flashback)_

_"It does not matter if you are a prodigy or a regular shinobi." The calm, patient voice of his Jounin-sensei uttered. "If you are out-classed in every way as a shinobi, then you will lose. It is as simple as that."_

_"Are you telling me to run every time I meet someone tough, sensei?" Naruto, in the body of an eight year old, had an annoyed scowl on his face._

_"Yes." He replied without missing a beat, "Unless you have something you want to protect or a mission that must be completed at all costs - you must flee otherwise. If you do not have a strong reason to fight, then never engage against an opponent you cannot defeat." _

_"Pretty cowardly, don't you think?" The thought of fleeing someone just because the man was better, Naruto thought it showed a lack of heart. "I don't like the thought of just giving up so easily."_

_"That is a foolish way for a shinobi to think, Naruto-kun. In our world, there will always be someone who can defeat you - pride doesn't make you feel better in death." His sensei stated with strong, underlying conviction. "You've yet to fight anyone who has truly outclassed you..." He muttered to himself before nodding subtly."Very well." _

_"Huh?" Naruto narrowed his eyes, "What's 'very well'?" The medic in training mimicked, his voice in a monotone. Though, the back of his mind was telling him to curl up in a ball and kiss his ass goodbye._

_"I will show you." His sensei drew a single blade from his back, "...what it feels like to fight somebody who completely outclasses you."_

_The blonde widened his eyes. He hated when the back of his mind was right._

_(End Flashback)_

* * *

Naruto woke up with a sharp startle. "Ah!" He grabbed his chest in phantom pain, remembering his latest battle with the infamous shinobi. After an entire second of pause, he realized that his chest had no pain. _"What...?" _He thought to himself, _"This is weird." _

"Awake I see..." A voice caught his attention. Cursing himself mentally for not sensing another figure in the room, he looked over and saw a doctor, her back turned to him while she was jotting something down, probably notes. She wore a white coat and had long, red hair. "You were severely injured."

"Really?" He replied sarcastically, "Gosh, I thought I lived here."

"Don't take that tone with me, boy." She scolded, "I'm the one that fixed you up since your ass-whooping."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "You know, I've never seen you in the hospital...well, I've never seen the back of your head in the hospital before." He corrected, "Who are you?"

There was a pause, and then a small chuckle. "How ungrateful." She muttered, "You don't remember..." She turned around very quickly, a smirk on her face. Naruto widened his eyes as he took in her form, jumping a bit at how sudden it all was. She was a petite woman with long red hair and a sinister smirk on her face. Her red eyes were a dead give-away to her true name. **"ME?" **

He sighed and began rubbing his temples, annoyed now. "So that's why I don't feel any pain...Cut the illusions, will ya, Kurama?"

Chuckling, the 'woman' nodded and snapped her fingers. In an instant, the 'hospital' room he was in dissolved completely into a different scenery. Now, rather than a comfortable bed, Naruto found himself laying down on the wet surface of a sewer. "Ehh!" He stood up quickly. "What was that for?" He asked, annoyed with his tenant's trickery.

**"What happened to your sense of humor?" **Kurama muttered, although his mutter rang louder due to his size. **"Besides, I wasn't kidding around you know. I really am the one who was fixing you up! I was the one that slowed down your blood loss."**

Sighing, the blonde nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm aware. I would probably be worse off without you at the moment."

**"Not 'probably'. You are worse off without me." **The Kitsune gave him a sharp look after that, **"You've slacked on your training." **

"I have not." The blonde defended himself, "I'm still in tip-top shape."

**"Fool, that is not what I meant. You've been slacking off on the most important part of your training! Do you know what it is called?" **The beast snarled, his face crunching up in an ugly way.

Shrugging, the blonde answered. "I'm sure you're going to tell me anyways."

Huffing, Kurama answered. **"It's called 'progress' idiot. You haven't trained to surpass your peak in years. I can only imagine how bad you would be without my gift of regeneration!" **

"I'd be fine, thank you very much." The replied calmly, "What's with you anyway? Sure, I just got my ass handed to me. So what? I was fighting Orochimaru of the Sannin, even if I had trained, the man would have flayed my in one way or another."

**"..." **The fox's red eyes bored into his with an intensity that made the blonde feel slightly nervous. **"Do you even hear yourself talking? Sure, you've stayed in peak condition."** Kurama admitted lightly,** "Sure, you are one hundred times better than everyone who is your age and sure, you are one of your little village's so-called 'Elite'. But let me tell you something you little brat, despite all the titles and achievements you have hanging on the walls of your office, despite your so-called 'infamy' and 'intimidating profile', YOU'RE STILL A FUCKING WEAK CHILD TO ME!" **Roaring out the last part of the statement, Naruto could literally feel the spit coming off its mouth.

"I'm a medic." Naruto said coldly, "Not a soldier."

**"I'm a medic, not a soldier." **The kitsune in a high-pitched, fan-girl like tone. **"Fuck you."**

"Who taught you such terrible language?" He asked incredulously, "It's not like you get out much or anything." He eyed the bars the fox was stuck behind.

**"Your mind, puny whelp. Back on topic - you're a fucking embarrassment! I saw the way you fought out there. Dodging around like a little bitch-" **Naruto really did wonder what the fox did in his free time. **"-and getting stabbed in the back of all things. What?! He snuck up on you like you were some punk ass Snoosnoo." **

"What's a Snoosnoo?" The blonde suddenly asked, grimacing. "Demon lingo? Well damn, I learn a new thing everyday."

**"Silence! Stop trying to change the subject!" **Kurama exclaimed. **"Had you actually been training for the past three years, you would have been able to at least drive him off or hold him down longer. Hell, you didn't even use my power!" **

Growling himself, he snarked back. "Your power is completely useless to me after four tails. It goes against everything I have been taught! The moment I get pass five tails, I cannot even remember my tactics or techniques."

**"Who cares?" **The fox replied incredulously, **"Power is truth! Tactics, techniques, speed, control and all of that matters little when you have POWER!" **Kurama picked up one of his arms and started counting off,** "Did you think the Sage of Sixth Paths was a master of what you humans called 'Taijutsu'? No, he was not! Was he a master of what you humans called 'Genjutsu'? No! All he had were titanic pools of chakra and the common sense to obliterate his opponents with it! He destroyed his enemies by walking up to them and destroying them upfront and personal!" **

"Until he met the Ten Tailed Beast!" The blonde roared back, actually angry by the demon's senseless argument. "According to ancient texts, it was the God of all Chakra - a single being so powerful, that he gave up nearly his entire lifespan to split it! He did not even defeat it with his so-called power, he had to dance around it! The brute surrendered and conceded to using tactics to achieve victory. Your argument is flawed, Kurama."

**"How dare you speak of the greatest human to have ever lived with such callous. His power would overcome your little tricks on any day of the week!" **Snarling, he continued. **"You fear power because you do not understand it." **

"I do not fear power, I am aware of its uses! I just refuse to turn into a raging, mindless beast." Naruto spat back in disgust, "Using even a fraction of your power would have alerted Orochimaru to my presence."

**"This would not have been a problem had you just overpowered him! Had you continued your training, my power what have been yours to take in a couple decades or so!" **

"No man should ever hold so much power! Not even me!" He exclaimed again, frustrated with the debate he was having. "Power is an addiction that has destroyed men far greater than I! Look at Jiraiya, what is his power good for? All he does is preach on and on and on about peace and ending the suffering of weak people. But on the flip side, he's a killer who has caused more conflict than resolution."

"He does not know what to do with his hard-earned power. Don't you understand? Jiraiya cannot complete his goals because he is feared! And do you know why he is feared? His might is known throughout the world, even in the far continents of this planet! People will only see his moves for peace as moves for conquest! With that mindset, there will only be conflict!"

**"You speak as if peace were actually real." **The fox snorted in disgust, **"Peace is just an illusion created by the denial and fear of conflict." **

"And I agree with you. But am I wrong in my beliefs that absolute power will solve nothing? Don't you see that without control, power is just senseless violence?"

**"You're a hypocrite! You run away from the power I offer but seek it through other means!" **And then the fox laughed hard, his tone cruel and mocking. **"No wonder you didn't bother to argue with that kit about his cut of the profit, you don't care if you get fifteen percent of five! All you want to do is feel good about 'control'. You think 'control' can overcome raw, unadulterated power?" **He banged his hands on the ground, shaking the very room with every impact. **"You fear my chakra because you are afraid of becoming a monster! You're a coward! I should have known that you were no different from them. No different from Mito and no different from Kushina!" **

"Don't speak of my family, you damned beast - my mother and grand-auntie were great women! My mother was one of the finest shinobi to ever grace this village!" He sneered back, his feeling of pride overcoming his senses.

**"Kushina and Mito were both cowards! Oh, and your grand-auntie? All she ever did in her life was provide a warm bed for her husband, a strong man!" **He laughed at the blond's sudden enraged face, the anger fueling his killing intent, not that it effected Kurama in the least bit. **"They see the world in your perspective. Power breeds corruption? Are you afraid to get your precious nails dirty? Are you afraid to smear your family's 'good' name by becoming like me? I'm hurt." **The last part came out with not so subtle sarcasm.

"I am right. With power, there will always be chaos. With chaos, there will be death. And with death, there is oblivion."

**"I may have hated your father." **Kurama admitted, ignoring the boy's rant. **"But at least I respect him, he wasn't a hypocrite like his son. He strived for nothing but the top, he wanted the power that you fear so much - he wanted it so much that he died for it, and you know what, he died with a fucking smile on his face. Can I say the same about you? I'm honestly not sure. You had my respect - I still remember when you barged in here for the first time and demanded my chakra. I laughed at you, you were such a loudmouthed little shit - but you know what, at least you knew where to go for strength! You understood that with me, you could become the best!"**

**"And now look at you. You've sealed half of your **_**own**_** chakra capacity into my cage for the sake of 'control' - fucking cowardly. I can barely stand the sight of you." **Naruto thought he caught a hint of disappointment in the Kitsune's voice, **"Get out."**

"How funny!" Naruto grinned, although it did not reach his eyes. "I was just about to leave."

And with that, the blonde left with a quick step, ignoring the heated gaze of his tenant from behind him.

* * *

(Chuunin Exams - Preliminary Round)

"Sensei...?" Sakura bobbled her hands in front of Kakashi's face, "Sensei!"

Blinking several times, Kakashi looked down and gave his genin a questioning look. "What's up, Sakura?"

"Are you OK?" She asked worriedly, "You seem...distracted."

"Of course I'm distracted. Don't you see Kurenai's ra-" Asuma glared at him from a distance, shutting him up instantly. Waving his hands back and forth to show that he was joking, he then turned back down to his genin, who was also glaring at him. "Hey now, don't worry about me. Don't you have a fight to worry about?" He shrugged. And at that very moment, the selection board chose her name.

Haruno Sakura vs. Karui

_"Well...shit." _Kakashi thought to himself. "Sakura. Try genjutsu immediately...if that doesn't work, then just forfeit."

"What?" She faltered in mid-step, "Why?"

"That girl is a highly trained shinobi. Just...just do as I say. Don't worry, you get brownie points for admitting that you would gain nothing from fighting a better opponent." He eye-smiled. "It will definitely improve your chances for next year if everyone has a high opinion of you."

"Tch! Have some confidence in me sensei! I'm gonna take her down." She beamed. "I won't disappoint you."

_"You could never disappoint me." _He sighed, wishing he could say it out loud. _"As long as you stay alive and with conviction." _

"K', if you lose to her, I'm gon' be takin' your sword away for a month. Just attack her from an angle and follow your instinctual hunch!" B then pushed her down. Glaring at her sensei for a moment, she nodded in acknowledgment and went down to face her opponent.

Karui was never a scenic person. She didn't follow popular shinobi who were projected to gain power, no, she was the type of girl who would rather gain it then root for others to do it. So when she looked at the scrawny girl in front of her, Karui couldn't help but scoff. "You're a kunoichi? And here I thought they made good shinobi in Konoha."

"I am a good kunoichi!" She exclaimed with a smile, "Graduated in the top of my class!"

"The kunoichi who graduated in the top of my class is dead." Karui deadpanned, making the pink haired girl widen her eyes. "Her problem? She fell in love with her teammate and chose to chase after him rather than continue her training. The consequences of her action were abduction, brutal rape and eventually death by starvation."

Sakura ashened so fast, it almost made the Kumo ninja laugh. "Ah...so you're one too. I should have known, it's a shame really. I bet you got lots of 'Hey, good job girl!' and 'Hey, you're really smart!' back in school, while the real hard workers fade in the background."

"I..." Sakura didn't know what to say. She had spoken about the death of a colleague with such casualty that it made her feel uncomfortable.

"Proctor...start the match. I won't even need to draw my blade." The red-head boasted confidently.

Gekkou Hayate sighed and nodded. "Begin!"

Sakura, realizing now was the best time to feel empathy, drew out several of her shuriken and launched it all at the Kumo nin. Dodging them all with one smooth slide, followed by multiple, athletic manuevers, Karui managed to get behind Sakura and captured her in a sleeper hold. "Give up."

"N-no!" She screamed, elbowing her opponent to get lose. _"I need to make some clones." _But in the middle of her hand-sealing, the Kumo nin landed a hard punch to her liver, followed by a kick to her temple. Sakura flew back and her head hit down to the ground with fair impact, knocking her out.

"Winner, Karui." Hayate said with almost no enthusiasm.

No one could blame him.

Kakashi watched Sakura get taken out with a sad and frustrated gaze. _"She didn't listen to me..." _He sighed, _"I should have done more." _

"Kakashi..." Kurenai muttered, "What was that? Sakura was undisciplined right down to the core. To be shaken by Karui's early statements - why? Sakura should have already known that those were all possibilities in our line of work. Have you not given her a taste of reality?"

"I tried approaching her training with a positive aura..." He sighed, "Guess I'll have to revamp that idea."

"You really should..." She agreed. "Because I was almost embarrassed for her. Good thing only we saw that happen and not the world."

"Alright..." Asuma decided to step in, "Who's next?" They all looked to the board.

Shikamaru vs. Tenten

Eying his opponent from afar, the male genin let out sigh. "Troublesome...a weapon user."

"Good luck Shikamaru." Chouji said, "You'll need it."

"Kick her butt!" Ino groused, pumping her arms in the air in excitement. "Show her whose boss! Yeah!"

Tenten sweat-dropped at the scene before nodding to her own sensei. "Yosh! Be wary of his shadow work Tenten! He is sure to be very intelligent like his father!" Gai exclaimed, "Attack without mercy and don't let him have anytime to formulate a strategy!"

"Hai!" She nodded with a smile. "I'll do my best!"

"YOOOOOOSHHA! DO YOUR BEST, TENTEN!" Lee yelled, making her almost facepalm, "ALLOW YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH TO RISE ABOVE THE SUN!"

"...Thanks Lee." She then looked to Neji who just shrugged. "Just be quick about it." Was all he said.

"Shikamaru..." Asuma turned to him with a passive face, "She's quick."

"Thank you." The genin muttered, shaking his head, "I definitely didn't know that, her body is soooo built otherwise." The Jounin wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not.

"Listen..." Asuma sighed, "This is a bad match up for you...actually, no - she's a perfect match up for you. Do your best and try to capture her."

Nodding, he slowly made his way to the floor, irritating a lot of the genin. Once Shikamaru got down to face Tenten, his face was passive, Tenten's was grinning. "Ready?" Hayate coughed out. "Begin."

Tenten quickly drew ten shuriken from her pouch and launched them all at Shikamaru from several different angles in a single stroke. Mumbling to himself, the boy crouched down and formed the rat seal, allowing his shadow to physically block any of the projectiles he couldn't dodge. She widened her eyes slightly at the show and then jumped back to make some distance between them when he extended his shadow towards her - she dodged it by moving at a diagonal angle, speeding up her retreat. Her back was now to the wall as she faced Shikamaru, whose face showed no sign of change as he eyed her from across the room.

"You won't catch me if you're so far."

"..." He didn't bother answering. "Troublesome." Tenten then launched more un-wired kunai at him.

"This is getting boring." He sighed. "I seriously should just give up."

"Then why don't you?" She asked, letting her guard down for a moment, "Why try so hard if you don't think you can beat me?"

"You're quick to make assumptions. I have two reasons to not surrender." He put up a single finger, "One, Ino would tell my mom and she'll kill me." Everyone quirked a brow at that.

_"Funny kid." _Kakashi thought to himself, _"Reminds me of Shikaku..." _

"And two..." He let out an exasperated sigh, "I've already won."

Tenten widened her eyes as she felt the control of her limbs disappear. "W-what?"

"Kagemane no Jutsu. Success..."

"How?" She asked, surprised. "When?"

He let out yet another tired sigh and shook his head. "Shadows are everywhere. You do realize that you're standing behind the wall?" She widened her eyes. "Yes. I can do that too." He grinned lightly. "Now then, why don't you yield?"

She twitched but nodded, putting her head down in shame at being caught by such a rudimentary tactic. "Winner, Nara Shikamaru."

"Yeah baby!" Asuma arm pumped loudly, before coughing and scratching his head. "I-I mean, great match you two! Great fight. Ehehehe..." Kurenai just rolled her eyes at him.

"You're so immature." She sighed, "That was a good fight. The strategy was fairly straight forward, I don't think he needed long to think of that one."

"...Well, there is only so much you can do in the space given." The silver-haired Jounin commented, "She didn't stand a chance."

"It's alright Tenten! You've done valiantly in getting this far!" Gai assured the down kunoichi.

"Hai, Gai-sensei!"

Looking at Asuma, Shikamaru only smirked. "Great advice, thanks." The man only shook his head and grinned.

As the board moved on, everyone watched as the next two were picked. "Wonder who it'll be..." Kiba muttered, "I hope it's me. I'm itching to whoop some ass down there after our fight with those Sound nin back in the forest!"

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, "Just don't be surprised if you lose, there's some tough people here - not those weak Sound shinobi." He muttered, gazing at a particular red-head from across the room. _"He's leaking...intent. Killing intent."_

"I'm sure you will all do fine." Kakashi eye-smiled.

The board then generated two names and much to Kiba's frustration, it read another set of names that were not his.

Kurama Yakumo vs. Yamanaka Ino

Asuma widened his eyes, ignoring his blonde student's sudden excitement and babble. _"Oh no..." _He rubbed his temples, seeing Kurenai give him a look of pity. _"She can't win this one with her mind techniques." _

"Ino...don't use the Shintenshin (Mind Body Switch) on her. She's immune to it." The girl narrowed her eyes, her earlier excitement stifled.

"What?" She asked, slightly furious. "No way! How else can I win?!"

"I'm sorry." Asuma replied lowly, "Just do your best. But no matter what...don't use the Shintenshin!"

He couldn't look at her after that, having just told his student to throw away her winning technique. It made him feel like an inadequate teacher - had he taught her more, she would have probably had more of a chance.

Now she was out there, alone and without an offensive strategy. _"Man...I hope she listens to my instructions."_

Kurenai nodded to her student and patted her shoulder, "Good luck." The young brunette nodded and walked down to the floor, intent on her goal of victory.

Ino just stood straight, her glare piercing the look of apathy of Yakumo's face. They then got into a battle stance as Hayate prepared to signal the start of the match.

"Begin!"

Ino immediately weaved back and prepared some academy clones, _"This won't do a thing...but I can't give up." _She sighed to herself. _"I need to find a way to restrain her." _

Yakumo just watched passively from her spot, having not moved an inch since the fight started - it only too her a fraction of a second to dispel the clones. Tilting her head, Ino drew a single kunai, placed an explosive tag on it and threw it at the girl. Yakumo caught it between her fingers as it exploded.

"Holy crap!" One of the Sand shinobi, the one with the cat-like costume, said, "She's so dead."

"Fool..." Gaara uttered almost inaudibly next to him, freezing the boy for a moment. "Look closer."

Ino watched as the dust cleared revealing a damaged log. _"Oh great, another proficient Kawarimi (Substitution) user - I didn't even see her use hand seals." _Feeling a presence from behind, Ino leapt forward, rolled to the ground and threw some shuriken at the spot - only to hit the wall. _"What's going on? Is she that fast?" _

"Heh..." Neji grunted, "She's good."

"Indeed, Yakumo-san will be a very tough opponent." Gai replied, "The burning potential of KONOHA IS AMAZING!"

Everyone ignored the man, "What's going on?" Chouji asked, "Ino's having a lot of trouble down there but Yakumo-san hasn't been doing anything either."

"Troublesome...we've all been fooled." Shikamaru sighed. "A dark horse among us. Good thing I didn't fight her."

"Huh?"

"She's using genjutsu. Yakumo is somewhere in this room...hiding. And the problem is, I can't find her..." He replied. "Kiba?" He turned toward the dog user.

"Her smell has diminished a lot...and whatever she had left, she scattered it around the room. I think she put one on everyone here." The genin said. "Akamaru, stop scratching your nose! You won't find her." The dog only whimpered back.

_"This is bad..." _Ino felt as if she was being hunted. _"Why hasn't she...wait!" _

Forming a seal, she exclaimed. "Kai!" But nothing happened. "What's goin-" Before she could complete the sentence, Ino ducked down again to dodge a phantom attack. It was as if her sixth sense was telling her to move as she was doing so - whilst the real threat just lurked. "She's not there..."

"She's not there..." A ghostly voice said at the same time, scaring the blonde into a momentary paralysis. "I'm sorry." Was her last words as brunette roughly slammed the back of a kunai into her skull, knocking Ino out.

Asuma sighed and nodded to Kurenai in acknowledgement. _"Damn...so that's Kurama Yakumo." _

_"She's definitely following in the footsteps of Kurenai...whether either of them realizes it or not." _Thought the Hokage.

"Winner, Kurama Yakumo." She bowed slightly to Ino before walking back up to the balcony.

Kakashi watched with an uncaring look, but on the inside - it was the opposite. _"Such advanced use of genjutsu...Not bad, she reminds me of a young Kurenai...and a bit of Rin when she wants to freak people out." _

The war veteran kept reminding himself that the new generation would always surpass the old one. He was glad that he wore a mask seeing as how no one could see the happy smile on his face - such an expression would destroy his 'cool' factor.

_"These kids have been impressive so far."_

He almost felt bad that they would have to experience war sooner rather than later.

* * *

(Elsewhere)

Kabuto rubbed his glasses with the side of his shirt, a look of annoyance plastered on his young face. _"I couldn't get those idiots in." _He thought, annoyed by the incompetence of his team. _"I leave for one moment and they get destroyed by some Kumo team...It doesn't matter. They were useless cannon fodder either way, no real measuring stick for a real shinobi." _

"Kabuto." The spy froze for a moment before turning around to face the visage of his master. Despite the man's smile, he seemed a bit on edge as well. "How was Sasuke-kun?"

"He was fantastic. The boy will become a fine shinobi, shame he won't surpass his brother. Itachi is just on a different planet at the moment in terms of...well. everything." The snake Sannin nodded and began stroking his chin. Kabuto noticed his scorched sleeve and quirked a brow. "Orochimaru-sama, did you meet someone capable of harming you?"

"I met a fairly capable boy. His name is Uzumaki Naruto, Namikaze Minato's secret heir."

The medic seemed a bit surprised, "Ah, him! I met him at the hospital, he seemed like a moody kid - not as intimidating as the books made him out to be." He said cheerfully, "He managed to damage you?"

"Of course not." The Sannin smirked, "The boy is hardly a threat to me."

"Orochimaru-sama..." Kabuto sighed and boldly grabbed the scorched sleeve, "You underestimate me."

Narrowing his eyes, he watched as the boy moved his sleeve and showed an ugly burn mark on the Sannin's forearm. "He damaged you. Not much...but still, a testament of his skills."

"Damage, Kabuto?" The pale man chortled, waving away his arm in nonchalance. "If you call this damage, then you are taking too little amount of hits in training. Perhaps I should help...rectify your weakness." He smirked, scaring the younger shinobi.

"O-oh no Orochimaru-sama! I'll be sure to go over this problem of mine with Kimimaro-kun." He sputtered.

"Tch, you've been in the darkness for too long. In war, damage worse than anything you could ever imagine is a constant. Heed my warnings - it does not matter how fast or clever you are, without tolerance, you are nothing but trash on the battlefield." He recited as if it were a famous line, at the same time, Orochimaru was also leaking dark intent. "I will not have my right hand be so...soft."

"Hai!" Kabuto nodded. "I will be sure to step up my training."

And then his dark intent disappeared in an instant, "Good! Now then, what do you have for me?"

The Sannin smirked as he listened to the boy give him reports on the various shinobi he had encountered in the forest. There was no better time to scout the enemy then during the Chuunin Exams when everyone was busy.

"Good..." He muttered, "Very good. By the way, how is that girl from Kusa doing?"

The boy smiled, "It's been going well. She's been a good little spy for us - I've been re-wiring her memories back little by little. Once she returns to her village, all of her memories will return and she will be our informant. If everything goes well, then we might be able to take over Kusa with minimal bloodshed."

"Excellent, she's a gem of a shinobi, a magnificent discovery. Everything is going as I've planned. Now than...I just need to kill one man here and we will have accomplished our primary goals."

The snake Sannin looked to the Hokage monument and grinned, his gaze piercing that of the Third Hokage's face with an intensity. _"Soon...Sensei. It will be soon..."_

* * *

_**END**_

_A continuation chapter, not too much going on except for the preliminaries - not sure if I'm going to show all of the fights. I should though - just to acquaint you all to the characters. _

_I hope you enjoyed it. _

_**Nara Shikamaru **_

**Taijutsu - 1.5**

**Ninjutsu - 2.5**

**Genjutsu - 2.5**

**Intelligence - 5**

**Strength - 1.5**

**Speed - 2**

**Stamina - 1.5**

**Handseals - 2.5**

**Total - 19**

**(x)**

_**Yamanaka Ino**_

**Taijutsu - 1.5**

**Ninjutsu - 2.5**

**Genjutsu - 1.5**

**Intelligence - 2**

**Strength - 0.5**

**Speed - 2.5**

**Stamina - 2**

**Handseals - 2.5**

**Total - 15**

**(x)**

_**Karui**_

**Taijutsu - 3**

**Ninjutsu - 2.5**

**Genjutsu - 2**

**Intelligence - 2.5**

**Strength - 1.5**

**Speed - 3**

**Stamina - 1.5**

**Handseals - 2.5**

**Total - 18.5**

**(x)**

_**Tenten**_

**Taijutsu - 2.5**

**Ninjutsu - 2.5**

**Genjutsu - 1.5**

**Intelligence - 2**

**Strength - 1**

**Speed - 3**

**Stamina - 1.5**

**Handseals - 2**

**Total - 16**

**(x)**

_**Kurama Yakumo**_

**Taijutsu - 0.5**

**Ninjutsu - 3**

**Genjutsu - 4.5**

**Intelligence - 4**

**Strength - 0.5**

**Speed - 1.5**

**Stamina - 1**

**Handseals - 3**

**Total - 18**

_Surprising stats? A few of them are canon - specifically, Shikamaru's, Tenten's and Ino's. _


	12. Faith

_**Chapter 11**_

_**"Faith"**_

(Forest of Death - Tower Infirmary)

Feeling a flash of lighting roll on his eye-lids, Naruto let out a low groan and cracked a single eye open. "...This is not the hospital." He muttered coarsely, scanning the brown wall.

"No." A familiar voice responded from his bed-side. "You were bleeding too much. Anko did not want to risk taking the long way to the Hospital so she brought you here. The equipment is decent, more than enough to help you out."

Rin placed her hand on his forehead. "Fever's down. Good..." She notes down on a clipboard.

"Did you get the poison?" Naruto asked excitedly, "Let me rephrase that actually - did you keep a sample of it? I want to see it."

The woman nodded, "Yes, I had someone transfer it to the Hospital." Pulling over a chair, she sat down next to him. "About last time..."

Naruto shook his head, "Not now. Just...just heal me, sensei."

"I won't bring up Naomi anymore. But that's not what I want to talk about." Rin grabbed his arm, "You almost died, Naruto."

"Clearly." He deadpanned, "Otherwise, I wouldn't be in this bed now."

"I'm aware that you fought Orochimaru and I'm aware that you've been out of action for very long now." The brunette squeezed his arm, "What I want to know is, why didn't you use the Kyuubi's chakra?"

Gritting his teeth, he answered. "Had I used its chakra, victory would have been unlikely. Orochimaru is not intimidated by flashy shows of chakra and demonic roars."

"Victory against one of the greatest shinobi to have ever lived is unlikely either way." Rin retorted, "You would have lasted longer. Minato-sensei did not seal it inside of you to not use."

"My father did what he had to do to save this village. Also, Orochimaru is at his best against mind-less opponents - I chose a strategy that I thought would work the best and I stuck with it. I chose to fight like an intelligent shinobi, not a mind-less demon."

"Is that what you think?" Rin asked, "I don't care if you are intelligent or mind-less. All I want you to do is survive!"

"And I did!"

"He should have killed you. Anko told me what she saw when she found you - you were bleeding so much that she thought you were dead right then and there! You have no excuse to ignore the power you were given!"

"You think that I am ungrateful? You couldn't be more wrong." Naruto began moving in his bed. "I'm glad that I have this power. I just refuse to become powerful in this way."

"Don't lie to me, Naruto." She scolded coldly, squeezing his arm even tighter. "You do not care about power anymore. I have been your mentor for many years and I have seen how you've slowly began to change your style. You use power when you are lazy and when you fight a difficult opponent, you abandon it and stick with intelligence. A sloppy way to fight."

"Before Wave, I haven't been in action in almost half a year. It's to be expected."

She slammed her hand on a nearby table, making him flinch very slightly - not used to seeing her lash out in such a way. "IT. IS. NOT. TO. BE. EXPECTED!" Rin growled, "With proper maintenance and condition, you would be in reasonable shape, not the weakling I see before me. Lack of mission action is not the only reason you've been sloppy, it's been your lack of training and mental preparation! I have taught you time and again that talent and intelligence cannot carry you all the time."

The brunette continued, "The Hokage has not seen mission action ever since he had black hair and he's still the best shinobi in this village, excluding Jiraiya. Oh and just to let you know, you've done more clinic hours than Jiraiya has done missions in the last few years."

Naruto grimaced, unsure of how to respond to that.

"I'm done holding your hand, Naruto. We need you, the better version of you. The you that walked into an entire battalion of missing-nin and demolished them with a balance of great strength and intelligence. We need that you...and now more than ever."

"...Sensei." Naruto was surprised her admission, "What are you saying? Between the lines I mean - you are obviously trying to brace me for something."

"Quiet." She placed a single finger on his lips, "I'm sorry... actually no, I'm not sorry for what I'm about to tell you."

Tilting his head, curious, Naruto led her on. "What are you going to tell me?"

"You're fired." She spat out, "And until you get yourself together, you are banned from working in any clinic in the village!"

The blonde just stared at her in the eyes. He could hear the roaring laughter in the back of his mind, the Kyuubi laughing at his current predicament. To be honest, Naruto was speechless so he did the one thing he was really good at, to lash out.

"What!?" He exclaimed, trying to sit up, only to feel pain in his chest. "You can't fire me! I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

"And that is exactly why I am firing you. I don't want the Uzumaki Naruto I see here and now working under me! I want the Uzumaki Naruto who found pride in his strength! I want the Uzumaki Naruto who was not afraid to become strong!"

"Are you an idiot!? Surely, you see that this won't end well! I am the best damn medic under your command - you can't just fire me! We're..." He slowed down for a moment, "We're about to be invaded. You can't take me away from where I can work my best."

"You never worked your best in Diagnostics." She corrected. "Or have you forgotten your history as a combat medic? Diagnostics is not your area of expertise, even though you are good at it, you are a combat medic at heart and nothing will ever change that!"

"True medics heal, not strike! Isn't that what you've always told me."

She slapped him. "How dare you speak so ignorantly in front of your mentor. I have taught you better than that." The brunette countered.

"I've always told you to be the best, not above average." Rin continued smoothly, "I have found someone to set your head straight. Hopefully, he can take you out of this slump. I cannot believe that you have turned out this bad."

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto felt like laughing, "You think a single man here can control me? The Hokage is simply too busy to-" He froze as a shiver ran down his spine.

Usually, Naruto never had this feeling, being a good shinobi in his own right despite Rin's current rant. No one ever snuck up on him, it just didn't happen - stealth was his area of expertise as well as medicine. But when he did get surprised every now and then, a shiver would run down his spine and a cold bead of sweat would make itself known.

"I may not be the Hokage but it's mostly out of choice." A deep, voice said from the corner of the room. Naruto didn't even sense him enter. "Now then, I know that we are not on the best terms."

"...Jiraiya." Naruto uttered, a migraine hitting him all of a sudden. "Finally found the time to visit your dear Godson?" He mocked.

"Naruto! He's returned to check up on you - show some gratitude!"

Scoffing, "Keh! Unbelievable. So you've come to set me straight have you?" Despite his bravado, Naruto knew well that the man in front of him could kick his ass in several hundred different ways.

"Yep." He replied conversationally, watching his Godson try to hide a grimace comically. Smirking, he continued. "Don't worry too much about this one Rin. His father had the same doubts about power - this one just chose a stressful time to be a dick about it." Naruto glared at him.

"Power breeds corruption."

"Oh cut the bullshit brat." He laughed, waving it off. "I'm not here to debate about power and control. It's an issue that has been talked of for many, many years! I don't care much for it anymore."

"...Then what are you going to do?" Naruto asked suspiciously. He could never understand the mind of his Godfather, "I don't need training."

"No, you don't. You have everything you'll ever need to become a great shinobi, you just lack one thing." The legend lifted a single finger and pointed it at the young man.

"Pointing is rude you know. Anyways, oh wise one - what do I lack?" He opened his eyes wide open as if to imitate a fan-boy.

"Smart-ass." Jiraiya scoffed lighty, "It's pretty obvious to a great shinobi like me. You lack...HEART!" He yelled the last bit at him.

Naruto seemed bemused. "What?" He looked at his chest, "I think I have mine."

"Idiot! That's not what I meant...but I'm sure you were just being a sarcastic asshole just now." The older man sighed, "You lack the heart to believe. You've become so cold, so calculating that you've become blind. You're faith has faltered and the world you see now is so dark, so hopeless that you've turned out like this."

Naruto roared out in laughter at his speech. "Are you being serious with me right now?! I lack faith? What does that even mean?"

"You do not want power because you don't believe in yourself. You think that all humans are alike, including you. You believe that right down to the core, if you were given absolute power, you would abuse and spam it - losing yourself along the way. You think that if any human were given great power, they would become monsters. I can understand your view. You're not entirely wrong...but you're definitely not right!"

"You fear gaining power because you love yourself just the way you are: a respectable shinobi and in control of yourself. But you ignore one thing, the progress of others! They will not hesitate to gain what you fear and you will lose because of this. Minato had the same problem too." Jiraiya admitted.

"What do you mean?" Rin asked, "Sensei...never held back in his training. He was always great."

"Ah but you never saw him when I did. I remember a time after the Gaou Massacre when he came up to me and asked a question. I'll never forget the look on his face - the man just looked so...scared. So scared that it even scared me a bit." He replied, "He asked me...'Am I a monster, Jiraiya-sensei?'..."

_"...What?!" _Rin thought, shocked, "Sensei thought this?"

Jiriaya sighed, remembering that day. "He said a lot of things like - 'I killed so many people that day, Sensei. I murdered men, women and children who just wanted to live their own lives. Am I not gaining power to bring peace as you said? How can I make peace when I create pain?'..."

"What did you tell him?" The brunette asked.

"I told him that he was wrong." Jiraiya answered, "He wasn't a monster, he was just a very powerful man and it was the truth. Minato was always incorruptible, even after he became famous for it. Iwa called him a demon but in his heart, he knew that he did what he had to do."

"..." Naruto only gave him a blank stare but in the recesses of his mind, doubt had already began stirring.

"You're wrong about your beliefs, kiddo. People may be born equal but they grow up to become different, some better than others! You are one of them. Can you not see it?" He asked rhetorically, "Power won't destroy you Naruto, even if it is from the Kyuubi."

"But! I cannot just...I cannot just turn my back on my teachings. I was taught that without control, power is senseless."

"But without power, control can only take you so far."

Various words then began ranging in Naruto's ears, words of the past that he threw away on a whim - words that he should have held on to.

_"Fact of the matter is, you can potentially be one of my best overall shinobi. Not just as a doctor."_

_"You are not living up to the potential your father has passed on to you!"_

_"Now look at you, a shadow of your former self."_

_**"You've sealed half of your own chakra capacity into my cage for the sake of 'control' - fucking cowardly. I can barely stand the sight of you."**_

Naruto's breath stifled. Jiraiya pulled up another chair to sit next to his Godson and placed a single palm on the boy's head, ruffling his hair with a small smile. "I know that you are not a coward, Naruto. You...you're just lost. Like I was when I was about as powerful as you are right now...just like your mother and father when they did. Like Rin here." The woman nodded sadly, "Like Kakashi and like many other great ninja."

"Am I...?" He asked quietly but with powerful conviction. "Why must it be my responsibility to become so great? Why do I have to become like _him?_" Naruto asked, disgust laced in his voice.

Rin wanted to speak up and ask what he meant but was silenced by Jiraiya, who waved his hand at her. He already seemed to have an idea of what the boy was talking about according to his casual glance.

"You are not like your former master."

"But I can still be." He snarked back, "He used to be great - he was one of the best damn shinobi in this village! Look at what power has turned him into. He became a monster! I...won't be like him." He gritted out. "Like Itachi!" He spoke the words as if it were a mantra he had told himself hundreds of times for many years.

Despite his Godson's many achievements, Jiraiya had to often remind himself that Naruto was still a child. A young man that could only see the world in a small view, unlike one of an adult. "Teenage angst doesn't suit you, kid." Jiraiya chuckled, "You're a good kid. You're better than him."

"Why not? My success is almost just like his. He trained me personally, if there is anyone in the village who is just like him, it is me."

"You're not anything like Itachi, believe me." The sage grunted, annoyed by the boy's thoughts. "While the similarities are great, there are so many other differences that even to the most inexperienced eyes, you two are different."

Naruto didn't answer immediately, "How can you be so sure?" He asked grimly, "And why are you so happy all the time? Don't you understand that because you are so powerful, you're visions of peace will never come to fruition?"

"Perhaps it won't." He admitted lightly, "But, the best we can all do...is just that, our best. I lived my life looking for a way to bring peace and I have failed, you are right. But I never lost my heart, my faith." He continued to ruffle his hair, "I won't let you lose yourself, Godson. I am sure that power won't corrupt you...because I have faith in you."

Faith.

_"Faith?" _Naruto thought solemnly. He wanted to retort at him, laughing at how idiotic the man sounded but when the blonde saw the conviction in Jiraiya's eyes, he couldn't help but just think for a long time. For several minutes, Naruto just stayed in complete silence - his mind was going a mile a second. His breath just hitched now and then, a hint that he kept hesitating to say something. But Jiraiya was patient and just let him think for a long time.

His eyes wandered around for a bit and landed on Rin who was looking at him with worry in her eyes. But it was the spot behind her that caught his attention. Like time had frozen, he watched as a ghostly visage of a friend of day's passed - walked up to him and placed her hand on his chest. She smiled slightly and began caressing his face.

Jiraiya thought he looked pretty funny, considering the kid was looking down at nothing and bobbed his head like a toy, a glazed look in his gaze. His face went through several different emotions, from fear to sorrow to content and then to realization.

"..." The blonde talked as if in a whisper, Jiraiya did not hear him at first. "I'm sorry." He uttered out silently. "...What have I..." He didn't finish his statement. Jiraiya nodded and just patted his shoulder.

"We all go through it. There is nothing to apologize for...You see it, don't you? The logic behind it all. There will come a time when all powerful shinobi like us will either rise to the top...or fall to darkness. This is the crossroads we all see sometime in our lives - the choice of whether to gain power or to leave it in fear of destroying ourselves. Of course, I never had a doubt in my mind where you would have ended - I just sped up the process. You are just like your father after all. Although...you seem to have your mother's humor."

Rin could only watch in amazement as the veteran shinobi managed to talk the boy out of his sick point of view. _"Damn..." _She could only shake her head, _"Even on bad terms, the man manages to make his Godson see reason. I would have never thought that the problem after all this time...was his fear of becoming like Itachi." _

"Have a little faith in yourself kid." The sage patted his head again affectionately, "Power won't turn you into a monster - not by itself. We're all here to help you through this...we won't let you fall to that darkness."

Naruto just looked up to his Godfather and held his gaze.

Then nodded.

* * *

(Preliminaries)

Chouji fell to the ground, panting hard after a long bout with his current opponent. He peered up to the apathetic, blond teenager with a determined spark in his eyes. She stared back at him, not backing down to his fighting spirit.

"Chouji can't seem to hit her." Asuma muttered, "She's too quick."

"Samui is looking poised to win this fight, Asuma. Looks like it's gonna be one-one for you." Kurenai said, "She hasn't even shown anything yet - only letting Chouji waste his chakra so far."

"Yeah..."

Watching Chouji return to his feet, Samui couldn't help but let out a sigh. "Shall we go again?" Her tone was plain and cold, the complete opposite of her teammate and sensei.

"You got it!" Inflating his body, he rolled over like a large boulder - looking to crush her beneath.

_"This is kind of sad." _The blond Kumo kunoichi thought to herself, _"Now I've seen one trick ponies before but never one this determined." _

Dodging with a smooth slide to the right, she decided to end the battle after seeing the boy's now reduced rolling speed. Taking out a couple of exploding tags, she slammed them down on the ground and watched as he rolled over to her direction. Like a land mine, the tags exploded the moment Chouji crossed it - the blast disrupted his balance and making him crash into the wall again, this time in his original form.

Hayate took a moment to check the boy over before nodding. "Winner, Samui."

"Eh, he tried his best. Good thing she kind of went easy on him, the tag was weak." Asuma groused, "I need to teach him some new ninjutsu."

"That was the most boring fight so far." Kakashi agreed, "No offense to you of course, Asuma. Now then...who's up next?"

The board began rolling and the chosen names were shown.

Inuzuka Kiba vs. Temari

"YES!" The Inuzuka exclaimed loudly to the room, "We've got this, ne? Akamaru!"

"Arf!"

The sand genin from across the room rolled her eyes and calmly walked down the floor. "This one take long..."

Her Jounin-sensei however, spoke up. "Inuzuka are typically known to attack from angles. Be wary of any drill attacks." She nodded, thanking him for the knowledge.

"Hn, watch out for her fan, dobe." Sasuke grunted, "Remember from the Academy lesson, Suna typically produces wind users - that fan is probably used to dice up her enemies." He observed.

"I'll be fine!" He smiled widely, "She's going down!"

"Maa, but he's right Kiba." Kakashi said from beside him, "She's likely to be a long distance specialist. According to my experience, she seems to be inspired by Suna's old fan squad. They were heavily reliant on their ability to keep a distance and observe the enemy so be sure to close the distance early in this battle."

"Hai!"

Five minutes later, the two genin were facing off on the floor. "Begin!" Hayate signaled.

And like his teacher instructed, Kiba threw a single pill at Akamaru and watched as he turned red. Temari seemed interested so she observed this development. "A soldier pill?"

"Yep! Now you're going down girl!" He smirked, "Jujin Bunshin (Human Clone)!" Akamaru transformed into an exact copy of him down to the smell. "Now then!" They both got on their arms and legs, as if emulating a wolf.

_"So this is the Inuzuka's Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four Leg Technique) - interesting, it looks exactly as the books describe in Suna." _

Kiba reached into his pouch and threw out some smoke bombs, hindering Temari's ability to see. "Tch." She sucked her teeth out loud. "Typical."

"Gatsuuga (Fang over Fang)!" As he and Akamaru began spinning, they began to randomly run right through the smoke screen as if hoping to get a hit out of just. A moment later however, Temari managed to counter - pulling out her fan, she swung it straight around her.

"Ninpou: Kamaitachi (Sickle Weasel)!" The smoke around her now blown away, as was the two drilling forms of Kiba and Akamaru - both hitting opposite walls. Not finished with her initial attack, she then pulled out two other, smaller fans from her big fan.

"Ninpou: Tsuin-itachi (Twin Weasel)!" Sending smaller and more compact blasts of winds to attack Kiba and Akamaru, the two managed to dodge the majority of her attacks. Unfortunately for Akamaru, the dog caught a strike and was wounded on the lower leg of his body.

"Shit." Kiba then took out some more smoke bombs, only to freeze as the girl had already prepared her attack. Carrying her bigger fan now, she swung it at his direction. "Ninpou: Kamaitachi (Sickle Weasel)!" Now taking on the full force of the hit, Kiba was knocked back hard into the wall like many other genin before him. Just as he was about to hit the floor, the girl threw several kuna and shuriken at him, catching a his left arm and leg. "Eh!" He grunted in pain.

Temari ducked instinctively, watching as the other clone of the genin pass right over her. Positioning herself carefully, she kicked the dog into the air and just as he landed, she allowed her fan to be placed under - Akamaru landing on it with a loud grunt. A moment later, he returned to his regular form, knocked out.

"Too easy." She grinned at her downed opponent. "Just too easy."

"Winner, Temari."

Kakashi watched in pity as his genin was carted off to the infirmary. "That's unfortunate - the girl was good." He sighed.

"Indeed." Asuma agreed, "She didn't need to do much - it was just a bad match up for Kiba."

"Yes, I guess it was. But I don't want to make any excuses for my squad, they should be used to adversity after surviving Wave." The Jounin shook his head, "I'll talk to him about it later. I wonder who's next."

Uchiha Sasuke vs. Omoi

_"I know you hate me Kami." _Kakashi looked up to the roof, _"But this is just ridiculous." _

Of course, in his heart, he did believe that Sasuke was a good match up for anyone here. But all the Kumo ninja so far had proved to be excellent shinobi - and the third one seemed to have the most intimidating demeanor. The dark skinned boy had watched all the matches so far with only a few comments and yawns here and there.

"Alright Omoi, we're goin' for the sweep baby! If you don't win..." For the first time, B didn't finish his rhyme and watched with satisfaction as the boy's eyes began blazing in thought. _"Works every time."_ The Kumo Jinchuuriki thought with a smirk.

_"Oh Kami, what if he demotes me back to the Academy! I can't let that happen! I have a family to feed and if I don't win this fight, I won't be able to help them at all! No...no, what if sensei decides to make me run four hundred times around Unraikyo! Oh man, that would totally suck - that would tire me out way too much. If he did that, then how would I be able to charm the ladies again?! I'll be hunched back almost one hundred percent of the time during breaks! Oh man, what if he decides to kill me? He could get away with it, couldn't he? Oh man...what if he tells Karui to spread bad rumors about me. I'll never be able to get a date then. I really wanted to ask that cute white eyed Konoha genin - what was her name again? Whatever! Oh man, she'll never like me if Karui decides to say something bad. What if she says I'm a womanizer or something! Don't girls hate that? Or maybe...maybe she could like that. No way! Wait, this is all about B-sensei here. What if he-" _

"Hurry up and get down here or I'll have to disqualify you." Hayate coughed. "We've been waiting."

"HAI!" He literally ran down the stairs. Karui face-palmed as she watched her idiotic third teammate act the fool. _"That idiot is definitely gonna kill the sweep." _

Sasuke watched his opponent with a curious gaze. _"He's in deep thought." _

_"What if-" _Omoi continued thinking of several different scenarios, _"Oh man...I hope he doesn't make me take on a pirate ship by myself. What if it blows up or sinks? Gah!" _

"Begin."

Sasuke drew a kunai and threw it Omoi, who just dodged without a thought. He still wasn't paying attention to the fight and for several good reasons, this seemed to enrage the young Uchiha. He reached down to the kunai pouch strapped to his left leg and drew another, bigger variant of a typical kunai.

"Oi! Pay attention or you'll be stuck in detention!" B shouted out quickly, "If you don't win, I'll have to commit one sin! I don't like killin' kids, but this one's gotta' huge bid!" That seemed to partially snap the dark-skinned genin out of his long, painful thoughts. Just as Sasuke was going to swing his small blade, Omoi drew the sword on his back quicker then he could catch - blocking Sasuke easily.

Retracting his sword, Omoi swung down quickly forcing Sasuke to step back, impressed with his cutting speed. _"Fast!" _Grinning now, Sasuke closed his eyes.

"Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye)." Both of his pupils turned blood-red with two tomoe like marks in each of them.

"Damn it all! I should've known foolin' you was a bad call!" B exclaimed, seemingly angry with himself now. "Now you're thinkin' too much that it's slowin' you down n' such!"

The Kumogakure Jounin's original plan was too exploit the boy's deep thought tendencies and make him come up with strategies to win, not think of possible ways to get punished by him. His plan had clearly back fired once he saw the first, slow swing.

"Eh, we know how he gets when he's thinking too much." Karui sighed. "Looks like this one is goin' to the Uchiha."

"Sadly." Samui agreed. "I think either way, they were matched up in terms of physical skill - perhaps the Uchiha is quicker. In the end, the factor that will decide this match are those Sharingan eyes."

Omoi charged Sasuke and swung at him at high speeds. _"Without these eyes, this would be a lot harder." _The raven haired boy admitted.

"This kid is good." Hayate muttered quietly as he watched the exchange. "That B guy must be good then too."

"That boy is amazing! It is a shame that he had to fight one of our own elites as well!" Gai exclaimed, "My internal rival's apprentice will surely not fail today!"

As all of this was going on, Omoi only continued to pile made up pressure on himself. He was sweating faster than he usually did in practice and his coördination was sloppy. Tired of all of it, he decided to throw caution to the wind.

"Itoryuu: Kumo-kakushuu (Cloud Beheading)!" He swung from the side and even as Sasuke dodged it, he felt the sheer amount of force behind the attack from the wind - it struck his face like a punch. Stumbling back from the slight impact, Sasuke had to jump back again when the boy began another exchange of quick cuts.

Tired of being on the defensive, Sasuke began thinking quickly. _"I have a good feel for his movements now...it took a while to get used to his speed but it was worth it. Now...I can do this." _

Reading Omoi's future swings with perfection, Sasuke ducked down and launched a kick that sent him into the air. Using chakra to heighten his speed, Sasuke appeared behind him in a form that was similar to Rock Lee, as Gai pointed out during the attack.

"Shishi Rendan (Lion Combo)!" In the midst of flight, Omoi was unable to dodge as Sasuke elbowed the side of his head first, followed by several elbows and punches - the finisher being a hard kick as they landed on the ground.

Hayate moved over and nodded. "Winner, Uchiha Sasuke." The raven-haired boy nodded to his downed opponent in acknowledgment.

_"Nice...but I think he caught a lucky break for some reason. That kid didn't seem entirely focused. Which I guess is his own problem." _Kakashi thought with an eye-smile, _"That's one and two. Not bad for a first time." _

"That was a pretty good fight. Lots of exchange, almost no dialogue either." Baki muttered from the side. He turned to the side when he heard a snort of amusement from the other red-haired Kumo kunoichi.

"Oh please. Most of the dialogue was probably going on in that idiot's head."

Samui only shook her head, not wanting to crack anymore jokes about her teammate. They were friends after all.

* * *

(?)

"Have you prepared them?" A low, gruff voice sounded out. "The estimated time of invasion will come in a month."

"Hai! We also managed to receive a new batch of children from a recently disowned orphanage from a nearby town." A tall, dark haired ninja said. His voice sounded cracked from being hidden behind a mask, "Our current forces will be adequate for the coming storm, Danzo-sama."

"Hm." He let out some stream smoke from his pipe. It was a habit he'd gotten from his teammate after seeing how much it relaxed the man after a long day. "Excellent. I want them all trained - I do not believe this will be a one and done battle. Orochimaru is more persistent than that...the fool is like a damned cobra."

"Hai! It will be as you command." The ninja then disappeared from sight. Danzo sighed and rubbed his temple, glad that no one was around to see his stressed image. Running an underground shinobi force, hidden from the Hokage to boot, was not an easy task - especially for someone of his age who should have retired long ago.

But not matter what, he would not stop defending his country, old bones be damned.

_"Konoha will live through this and the world will know our might once again. The Roots of Konoha shall never perish."_

* * *

(Iwa)

"Kurotsuchi!" A large shinobi spoke loudly. "Kurotsuchi! Where are you?" He muttered, annoyed with his smaller sister. _"She's probably upstairs, sulking." _

Walking up to her room, he found that her slide door was slightly open. Peaking through, he saw her stashing dozens kunai and shuriken into a single bag, along with several other explosive notes. _"She doesn't need that much if she had a mission...what is she up to?" _He thought to himself curiously. _"No...unless she's planning on sneaking into battle with Gramps. That's not good...I should stop this now." _

He was about to make his presence known when he saw the glint in her eyes. It was one he did not see often enough in her cold gaze - it was worry and compassion. Akatsuchi was well aware of just how much she valued her family after the loss of her parents and the betrayal of Deidara, one of her friends. Secretly, he knew that she was the type to cling on anything she could get her hands on these days, looking for an obsession to take her mind off general grief of loss.

It was not healthy but he didn't know how to help her. So this one time, he just watched and allowed her to pack her bags in secret. Turning around, he also came to a decision himself.

_"What kind of grandson would I be if I let Gramps go to war alone? I'll sneak out to Konoha with her...and then together, we'll watch it burn. It's not like anything bad will happen."_

* * *

(Forest of Death - Infirmary)

"Are you alright?" Jiraiya asked carefully, "You did get your ass kicked by my former teammate after all." He said cheerily, annoying the other two in the room.

"Tch, I would be soft as all hell if I let some injuries bother me. Shinobi live in pain all the time, this is nothing." Naruto muttered in reply, "Now come on, I want to see the matches. Being in here is boring as hell."

The sage just nodded. "Ah, I bet you just want to have a jolly good time with your Godfather right?" He smiled, "I'm touched! Did you finish the book I gave you last time we met?"

"It's been a couple of years." Naruto sighed as he tried to stand to his feet. "I completely forgot what the book was about. The only piece of literature I remember from your collection is your first book." The Toad sage pouted.

"Tch, only because your name was the same as the main character." Smiling to himself slightly, Naruto nodded in confirmation. "Ah, self-centered brat." He ruffled the boy's hair...again.

"Stop that! It's annoying." The blonde got to one feet before faltering. _"What the-" _

"Stop! The poison had spread throughout your entire body so we had to do a full body operation. Heightened regeneration or not, you'll still have a hard time moving. Remember - you should have been dead." Rin scolded him. Going to the corner of the room, she picked out a cane and gave it to him. "If you insist on getting out, then use this."

Accepting it, he nodded and got back up to his feet. "Thanks." He slowly made his way to the door with it, Jiraiya following him all the way.

Rin could only shake her head as she watched the two banter back in forth as they made their way to the competition.

_"It doesn't matter how much Naruto thinks he's annoying. The man's just too damn likeable..."_

At the moment, she was just relieved to see that her best student had finally taken his first step to real recovery.

* * *

_**END**_

_Moral of the last two chapters. With power comes consequence._

_Bah, the prelims are going fine so far - I'm unhappy with how I handled the Chouji and Kiba fight, it just seemed so...boring and plain but it had to be done, otherwise, it would've kept bugging me. The last three fights are going to be in the next chapter then we're gonna have a short stint during the month long break._

_I feel like I'm probably rushing Naruto's change of mindset but...meh, young kids are impressionable, something many people forget. Jiraiya is the most charismatic character in canon as far as I'm concerned, of course any version of Naruto would follow his guidance. Strength as a shinobi does not equal maturity, Naruto is still 14, something that I should have emphasized last chapter._

_As many of you know, I did make Naruto completely unlikable last chapter on purpose. Of course, I didn't think so many of you would be so upfront about it though. I actually thought he gave a really solid argument. Is he wrong? Absolute power does breed corruption after all, we've all seen it. _

_Naruto is a flawed character. I'm envious of the writers of House. I wonder how those guys managed to turn that asshole into such a likable character, haha. Also, for many of you who's asking why I made Naruto so 'wimpy' - he's not. He's a damn kid with power beyond his years and has been traumatized several times. Whether as a shinobi or a doctor, he's had to make decisions people his age shouldn't have to. It hardened him to the core and since Jiraiya wasn't around to guide him, he just stayed like that. Rin admitted that she failed as a teacher and asked him for help. I didn't write down Naruto's insight on being a doctor just to sound cool you know - it was his vision of the world. He's almost the complete opposite of canon Naruto at this point in the story._

_Another thing I have an issue with is everyone's problem with Orochimaru. Since when did losing to him mean you're a terrible shinobi, lol. Guy is a beast, he's one of my favorite villains._

_And to the guy that said 'Tsunade was a medic-nin and she's not wimpy like Naruto' or something along those lines. You're talking about the same Tsunade who, currently in this story, is drinking and gambling her life away? Point. _

_I think I've said my peace. Anyways...here's...Johnny!_

_Well, kinda. _

**Akimichi Chouji**

**Taijutsu - 2**

**Ninjutsu - 2.5**

**Genjutsu - 0.5**

**Intelligence - 1**

**Strength - 3**

**Speed - 1**

**Stamina - 2**

**Handseals - 1.5**

**Total - 13.5**

**(x)**

**Samui **

**Taijutsu - 1.5**

**Ninjutsu - 3.5**

**Genjutsu - 3**

**Intelligence - 4**

**Strength - 1**

**Speed - 2.5**

**Stamina - 1.5**

**Handseals - 3.5**

**Total - 20.5**

**(x)**

**Temari**

**Taijutsu - 2.5**

**Ninjutsu - 3**

**Genjutsu - 1.5**

**Intelligence - 2.5**

**Strength - 3**

**Speed - 2.5**

**Stamina - 2**

**Handseals - 2**

**Total - 19**

**(x)**

**Omoi **

**Taijutsu - 2.5**

**Ninjutsu - 2.5**

**Genjutsu - 1.5**

**Intelligence - 1.5**

**Strength - 2.5**

**Speed - 3**

**Stamina - 2.5**

**Handseals - 1.5**

**Total - 17.5**

_Hope you guys have a nice, safe weekend! I've been on an updating spree and it's tiring me out. Later. I'm working on a couple one shots too, I don't know when they'll be out but when they do, look out for them. One is a semi-crack fic and the other is a mass crossover. Both long one shots._


	13. Authors NoteDiscontinuationHNY

A/N: Hello Fanfiction readers. My humblest apologies for bringing this notice so late into the game, it was not my intention to lead any of you on some sort of wait. So I want to make it official. I know; I hate it when other writers do these to stories as well.

This story will be discontinued due to a few things. One, I simply don't have the time to write and I have the most epic writers block on me at the moment. Bad combination.

Two, which is a sort of continuation on the first, real life made itself known to me recently. It's punching at me hard and that has been taking its toll on me. I've been having issues within my family that will take a long time to overcome. I won't divulge the information because quite frankly it's personal business.

Lastly, I've just been tired recently. Between my own personal health issues, school and other things, my minds been strongly occupied.

However, I do not want to end this on a down note. I sincerely hoped that this story would encourage many writers. That's one of my biggest reasons for even writing in the first place. For a long time, there's been a lack of diversity, especially in the Medic!Naruto genre. I hoped to generate a sort of originality, not plot wise, but in terms of style. Its fine to follow a guideline my fellow FF people, but style and execution of plots will never get old.

For example, many television shows still maintain high drama despite using overdone plot lines. It's a matter of style and how you execute it.

What I'm trying to say is, I was hoping to inspire better people then myself to write. It makes the FF experience that much better. Personally, I've found myself in other series FFs. Many are very good and many are very bad. It happens.

Anyways, I wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year. I hope you Christmas was wonderful.

Signing out,

E


End file.
